


Clandestine

by megamac1296



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crime, F/M, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2019-04-17 12:25:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 62,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14188941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megamac1296/pseuds/megamac1296
Summary: Konoha, it has its fair share of problems like any other city. It also contains many legends both good and bad, but when a new enemy strikes at the heart of the city and takes a close friend from him, Naruto along with his friends will stop at nothing to defend the city. A ghost from Naruto's past also stalks the city but it looks like he has his own set of problems.





	1. Chapter 1

The sound of a briefcase opening always held some appeal to him because you never know what's inside. It could be money, drugs or a stack of papers that could make or break someone's life, this briefcase contained none of these things. It instead contained his weapon of choice for the day, at this stage Tenten knew what suited him best. All he had to do was give her the general conditions of the job, no details of course, and she'd come through for him.

A disassembled sniper rifle lay inside the briefcase with one clip of ammunition, he would only need one bullet. He worked quickly but without hurry, he never had much of an interest in guns but whenever Tenten got started talking on them she would get this real passionate and lively look on her face and he couldn't help but listen to every word coming out her mouth with such excitement.

When the rifle was finally assembled he took a quick look towards the building where his target was. There she was right on schedule, she hadn't changed that much to say, although judging from her posture she did seem to have to have a new air of confidence that wasn't there before. _How tragic_ he thought, all those years of being a shy and nervous wreck and now apparently all grown up and in charge. Yes it was a pity that Hinata Hyuuga had to die, but hey he was gettting paid to do it. She had a smile on her face as she walked into her bedroom, good her last moments on this earth would be spent with some semblance of happiness.

He waited 2 minutes until the Hyuuga guards had left the outside of her room. He didn't feel any particular remorse that this was his former ally, as far as he was concerned she was his target, nothing more nothing less. His escape route memorised he took a deep breath and put the Hyuuga heiress in his crosshairs. A small but firm pull of the trigger was all that it took for her life to be brought to an abrupt end. He packed the rifle away swiftly and descended the many stairs he had climbed to get to the roof. As he walked into the crowd of pedestrians Sasuke Uchiha could easily be mistaken for a businessman holding a briefcase which held a stack of papers that could make or break someone's life. Well he certainly did break someone's life today.

* * *

 

Naruto Namikaze looked down at the body of his friend, that .308 round had had made a mess of her once beautiful face. Looking at her now lying in a pool of her own blood left him feeling dazed. Under normal circumstances the police would have been called, but the Hyuuga family were very powerful and Hinata was an old friend, so on this occasion Anbu were brought in. If he was being honest though Naruto wished he'd chosen a different team. Kiba avoided looking at Hinata's body, which at a crime scene wasn't the most helpful thing to do. Neji's knuckles had gone white from him clenching them and his face looked like he was about to explode. Only Shino kept a steely resolve, his face was neutral but with those sunglasses covering his eyes who knew what he was feeling?

"Kiba we got everything?" No response

"Kiba!"

"What, oh yeah we're good." his voice came out hoarse and low. Naruto put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Alright then let's go." Everyone began to clear out and just as Naruto was about to leave Hiashi Hyuuga approached him.

"Naruto I don't know what the relationship between you and my daughter was but she always spoke highly and fondly of you. So I am asking you to please find whoever did this."

Naruto didn't say anything because he didn't know what to say, also if Kiba's voice was any indication, he didn't exactly trust his own. He simply nodded at Hiashi and Hanabi, Hinata's sister, and left the Hyuuga building.

* * *

 

The drive back to base was uncomfortably silent. Naruto just couldn't think of a single reason why anyone would murder Hinata, she was one of the most kindest people he had ever met who never had a bad word to say about anyone. He was delighted to watch her mature into the confident woman she was today, who would soon be taking over the Hyuuga business. Naruto on the other hand had chosen to follow the Anbu path, his father said he had to if he wanted a shot at becoming Hokage.

Hmph, he didn't see Obito slumming it down with the rest of them in Anbu. Oh no, Obito got the nice cushy job as his father's assistant, Naruto was kind of glad though, he couldn't imagine himself sitting behind a desk for too long.

Naruto became so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that they finally arrived. As soon he walked in he was enveloped in a hug from his best friend. The smell of her cherry blossom hair instantly soothing him.

"Hey, you alright?" she whispered in his ear. He hugged back as confirmation. Sakura and him had a pretty unbreakable bond, both sharing from the sins of their former friend. A dark, horrible thought entered Naruto's mind as soon as Sasuke got in his head but he quickly dismissed it.

"C'mon let's go see what she says." By "she" Sakura meant their boss: Tsunade. Under recommendation from the previous Hokage, Minato put Tsunade in charge of Anbu. Not only did she do a great job of running the Anbu, she also did a great job of keeping Danzo in check. So much so that Minato turned a blind eye to her heavy drinking and gambling.

"So what have you found?" She said in a soft tone. He got that everyone was trying to be sympathetic but he wasn't made of fucking glass. He wasn't going to shatter over this and everyone treating him like a child who just found out their goldfish died was starting to get on his nerves.

"We'll have Shino and Kiba go over the evidence and then pass that over to Shikamaru." He told her.

"Anything regarding a motive"

"Not a damn thing, I can't imagine a single reason why anyone would murder Hinata"

A new voice spoke up "The Hyuugas are a wealthy and powerful family, it could be money or if someone wanted to get to Hiashi what better way to do it than splattering his dear, innocent daughter's brains out"

Naruto and Sakura both turned around to see their team leader, Kakashi, standing there. He wore a mask to cover his eye but whenever they asked how he lost it, he would always change his story. Naruto thought he wore the mask just to look cool, either that or he had an especially ugly face.

"And we know just the group who would be willing to carry out an operation like this, don't we?" That dark thought entered Naruto's mind again and he felt Sakura tense next to him.

"Well if it is them we should find out soon enough." Despite all that had happened Naruto felt a little jolt of excitement because he knew what Tsunade was implying. Inside said group they had a man working undercover. Well not really a man, more like the legend that every single person in Anbu universally looked up to and respected.

If it really was the Akatsuki behind this, then Itachi Uchiha would soon be in contact.


	2. Chapter 2

Itachi Uchiha was between a rock and a hard place, as if being undercover wasn't hard enough, the addition of his brother into the mix didn't make his life any easier. At least with Sasuke in the Akatsuki he could keep an eye on him but with each job his brother took the more he was losing him. Knowledge of Itachi's current situation was known only to a select few. Tsunade, obviously, Minato, Naruto, and unfortunately, Danzo. As the Hokage's son, Naruto got access to information not easily available to everyone else.

When Itachi first joined the Akatsuki he didn't even meet the leader, Pain he apparently called himself. No, instead Itachi was introduced to second-in-command, Konan. This told Itachi that either Pain was one careful individual or that Konan was merely pretending to be second-in-command. Maybe she thought she would get more respect as leader if they thought that she answered to a man. Itachi was no fool, Tsunade was once one of the best agents Konoha had ever seen and the tales of the legendary Sannin still carry on strong to this day. On top of that, didn't his brother's friend run damn near all the weapons coming into Konoha? Yes, if you wanted a weapon Tenten was your one stop shop, big or small she had it. Anbu had tried targeting her before but she never had any weapons on her or in the vicinity. So Itachi was not one to underestimate a woman but he couldn't exactly say the same about the rest of his associates. One swearing, religious psychopath came to mind.

Konan was cold and any attempts made to ask about Pain were met with short, clipped answers or none at all. This added to his theory of there being no such leader and she was was lying, but Itachi went with the flow. Either way if he got closer to Konan, he'd get closer to the leader. He was paired up with Kisame Hoshigaki, a monster of a man whose teeth were sharpened to razor point. He'd been known for causing trouble in the land of the Mist and was scarily devoted to a mission once it began. The two got along well, Kisame being the more conversational of the two. Itachi normally let him talk because the less he had to make up while undercover, the less chance he'd mess up later on.

Itachi tried everything to lower the emotional walls Konan had set up. Being an undercover agent, you learn how to make people open up to you but Konan was a tough one to crack. Every attempt made seemed to be getting him nowhere, but slowly and surely they formed a loose friendship. The closest he'd gotten to any actual information about Pain was when he casually asked if they were together. She didn't respond immediately and when she did her melancholic smile, it gave him more to ponder.

" _No, not like that ... we are close friends that's all."_ Her thoughts seemed to drift somewhere else, so Itachi didn't press the matter. He had a lot to think about and this was the closest he had gotten to her. What was her real connection to Pain? Had he turned down her affections or did her affections lie elsewhere and Pain really was just a close friend? If that was the case then Itachi could forget about going seduction route. Probably for the best, with the more time spent with people undercover, emotions and loyalties can become confused and things never really ended well. Besides he had grown fond of Konan's company, along with Kisame, as they were really the only two he could tolerate in this circus show of an organisation.

A knock at his door brought Itachi out of his musings.

"Itachi, your brother has returned." Itachi smirked.

"Are you just using my brother as an excuse to come see me?" Konan's normally stoic face broke into a smile.

"What, I need an excuse to come and see you now?" She teased. Their relationship had evolved into a solid friendship and Itachi suspected that Konan was lonely. Having a close friend who called himself _"Pain"_ didn't make it seem like she had the widest circle of friends.

"Well let's see how Sasuke got on." He said with a smirk but inside, he hoped his brother failed and couldn't do it. At least there would be hope for him if that was the case. Itachi was doubtful however, his brother had not hesitated on any previous mission so he was unlikely to start now, even when ordered to kill one of his former allies.

With a gesture to Konan to lead the way, Itachi braced himself for another reunion with his brother.

* * *

 

When Sasuke returned to the Akatsuki base he was greeted by his team. Most Akatsuki members worked in two's but Sasuke had a team of four; handpicked by Sasuke himself. Suigetsu was a smartass but he always came through, Jugo was calm and unquestionably loyal but once you pissed him off watch out because he took no prisoners and Karin...

Sasuke learned two things while working with Karin:

1) Never mix business and pleasure.

2) Never stick your dick in crazy, obsessed fangirls.

Sasuke was a man, he was allowed to have urges, it just so happened that one of his team members was all too willing to assist him with these urges. After a long and sucessful mission, what was one blowjob? For him, nothing. For her, it was a way to get close to him. The problems began soon after, she would slip up during work and constantly zone out.

_"Probably fantasizing about me."_ Sasuke shuddered at the thought. He scowled at himself however, he thought he had managed to get his ego under control.

Finally his brother and Konan arrived. He was getting tired of dealing with her, after all the work they had done when where they going to meet the boss?

"I trust the mission went well Sasuke." That monotone voice she used also didn't help his opinion of her, how did Itachi deal with her, let alone call her his friend? Sasuke grabbed a remote and turned on a nearby TV and flicked to the news which showed the scene over at the Hyuuga building. His team looked pleased with themselves but the ice-queen didn't even change her expression and Itachi didn't even look at him.

"Good, now as you know there is a Five Kage Summit taking place at the moment." Straight on to the next job then. She wasn't much on downtime, then again downtime was likely going to be him fending off Karin, so he let it slide. She changed the channel to where Naruto's dad was greeting his fellow Kages. Sasuke saw the auburn hair of the Mizukage and felt his crotch nearly spring to life. Maybe he'd be making an appointment to see her again, he really hoped Konan wasn't going to ask them to take her out. True, the Mist was a shithole but what was to be expected after the terrible rule of Yagura, who nearly ran the city into the ground. Now Mei was doing her damnedest to fix her city, on top of that she was Sasuke's ace in the hole. She promised him full immunity and a job in the Mist, if shit ever hit the fan.

After stepping in when her previous bodyguards had failed her, she owed him more than a one night stand.

Saving people wasn't normally Sasuke's thing but he had a soft spot for women in distress. Something his mother had drilled into Itachi and him, so much so that it never left him even in his later years.

So Sasuke tried not to look visibly worried as he nodded at Konan. He was committed to his brother, yes, but to Akatsuki, not so much. He knew it would be ironic for him of all people to betray Akatsuki for one friend after he betrayed his friends to go follow his brother. Konan took out a picture and placed it on the table. It showed a man wearing sunglasses with a tattoo of a bull's horn on his left cheek. Sasuke nearly let out a sigh of relief but saved himself.

"Hey I know him, that's Killer B." Suigetsu piped up.

"Correct, you may know that his brother is the Raikage and has supported B's music career. He travelled along with his brother to the Summit and hopes to play a show in Konoha two days from now."

"You gotta be shitting me," Suigetsu looked at the picture incredulously "you want us to take out arguably one of the biggest stars on the planet at the moment." Konan simply nodded.

"Well his music kinda sucked anyway."

"It's going to be a big job and you don't have a lot of time." Sasuke was getting tired of this shit. Assassinate one of the biggest stars on the planet, why? Did Pain really just hate rap music, did Killer B's music suck so bad that it warranted his death?

"No." Sasuke said firmly.

"What?" Konan looked surprised. Sasuke was too, he couldn't believe he managed to get an actual human emotion out of her.

"Sasuke." Itachi warned. Sasuke looked at his brother.

"Fuck that, we've been doing everything you asked for, carrying out your orders like a damn dog and we haven't even met this "Pain" yet. So if you want us to do this job stop jerking us around like we're my brother's cock." Konan blushed and again confused Sasuke. He meant that line as a joke, was Itachi actually fucking her? Sasuke could see how it made her more bearable to be around, but what happened to the golden rule of never mixing business and pleasure. Sasuke was allowed to make mistakes but the great Itachi Uchiha rarely made any and if he did he kept it under wraps. He looked at his brother's face for confirmation but found nothing.

A low chuckle was heard from behind everyone. Sasuke and Itachi stared at the new figure who had red hair quite similar to Karin but that wasn't what struck them the most. What struck them the most were the figure's purple eyes. He had this presence that immediately demanded attention.

"You are quite right, young Uchiha. No more hiding, allow me to introduce myself. I am Pain," he moved so fast Sasuke didn't even register until those purple eyes were gazing down at him and appeared to examine him with extreme scrutiny, "and for the purposes of this mission I advise making your mind up quick because when all is said and done I decide who lives and who dies. So if you want to leave go ahead, but if you stay, consider me your God and do exactly as I say."


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto sat at his desk in Anbu headquarters. He was looking at a picture of his team from when they got accepted into Anbu, Naruto was staring angrily at Sasuke in the picture, for what he could not remember. Sasuke had his usual scowl firmly planted on his face and Kakashi looked like he was trying to keep the peace. Only Sakura looked truly happy in the picture, a severe contrast to how she looked nowadays.

Speaking of which, Naruto could instantly tell she was distraught when she knocked on his office door. He immediately got up to greet her only to find her not able to make eye contact. He moved towards her and gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked in his softest voice.

"We got word from Itachi ... it's him Naruto, he killed Hinata." Naruto felt his world implode, he knew he shouldn't have told Sakura about Itachi's undercover mission. His dark thoughts from earlier had manifested into a nightmarish reality. This was going to make it difficult to bring Sasuke back. Even if they somehow captured him without killing him, which Naruto was debating at the moment, odds of him surviving or escaping execution were unlikely. A life sentence was looking like the best case scenario at the moment.

Naruto turned away from Sakura. "I was looking at our old graduation photo, from when we got accepted into Anbu."

Sakura approached his desk and looked at the picture with disdain. "God I was such a know-it-all bitch back then."

"Back then?" Naruto looked at her questioningly.

Sakura hit him playfully "Shut up you asshole, you were still a world-class annoying idiot back then as well."

"Yeah but I was lovable idiot, you were just a straight up bitch." He chuckled lowly.

"Well this bitch is gonna kick your ass if you don't shut up."

"Oh well now you're just proving my point Sakura." He smiled and then pulled her towards him, burying his face in her pink hair, arms wrapped her.

"Listen Sakura," him talking into her hair with his warm breath felt pretty comforting to her, "I don't know what we're going to do about Sasuke," his name brought chills up her spine but Naruto's warm body wrapped against hers made up for it "but whatever we decide, we decide it together, ok?"

She nodded into his broad chest and melted against his embrace. After a few seconds they split apart and he saw the renewed fire in her eyes.

"What does Tsunade say?"

"She's leaving now to go meet your dad with Danzo." Naruto grimaced, he would not want to be his dad right now. On top of dealing with the Five Kage Summit, he was going to have a meeting with Danzo as well. Maybe being Hokage wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

* * *

 

Minato Namikaze was not one to be stressed easily. On the outside he was perceived as a gentle man who had it made, the beautiful wife, the strong, handsome son and the position of Hokage. However in reality he had a useless assistant who had the gall to actually expect the position of the next Hokage. The day of the Five Kage Summit that they had been preparing for the past three months and Obito was nowhere to be found.

Speaking of the Summit, he had spent all day meeting and greeting the Kages of the various nations. Gaara was actually Naruto's friend and treated Minato with the utmost respect. Naruto had befriended him after Team 7 saved him from two members of the Akatsuki, Naruto had told him however that one of his teammates had suffered horribly at the hands of the Akatsuki. The look of pure anger on Naruto's face convinced Minato and Kushina that he was becoming more and more enamoured with his teammate, as if the constant talk of her wasn't proof enough.

Mei was also quite tolerable, Minato had to give it to her, she was certainly trying hard to restore the Mist to what it once was. The Raikage was passionate but damn was he stubborn. Everything had to be his way and negotiating with him was like trying to eat soup with a fork.

As for the Tsuchikage, the mere fact that Ohnoki was still in that position was nothing short of astounding. He was so old Minato was worried he was going to die of a heart attack any minute. He was even more stubborn than the Raikage and something about his voice just rubbed Minato the wrong way. The man had more wrinkles on his face than his former master probably had on his scrotum.

The thought of Jiraiya managed to bring a smile to Minato's face. Minato always thought he was going to die of an STD from all those women he bedded during his time as part of the legendary Sannin, but Jiraiya settled for the next best thing. He died of a heart attack, face down into his book while writing the newest edition of his "Icha Icha Paradise" series.

Minato was brought out of his nostalgia when he heard a knock at the door.

"Enter." He commanded. The red hair of his wife popped through the door, she was filling in for Obito for the day, Minato swore he was going to give Obito an hour long lecture when he finally dragged himself out of whatever hole he was in.

"Tsunade and Danzo are here, honey." He gave her a wink and then said "Send them in." And there was the final nail in this coffin of a day. Minato was really tired and quite frankly not in the mood for this crap now. He just wanted to go home, eat some of Kushina's amazing cooking and just cuddle up next to her in bed and sleep his problems away. Was that too much to ask?

Tsunade and Danzo entered his office and he motioned for them to sit.

"Tsunade, I understand we finally have a solid description of the leader of the Akatsuki."

"Correct sir, Itachi gave us enough details on Pain to put together a rough sketch."

"Hm, he doesn't look familiar, anyway what's our next move?"

"I recommend having Itachi remain in the Akatsuki and keeping an ear to the ground."

"Sounds good, tell Itachi to keep up the go-" Danzo cleared his throat and Minato sighed. Just when he thought it was going to be easy.

"Speak Danzo."

"With all due respect sir, this is the first time Pain has revealed himself at all. There has to be a reason for it and Itachi could be in danger." Minato narrowed his eyes, Danzo worried for Itachi, yeah that would be the day. He obviously had an ulterior motive but what was it? Danzo might have been a bastard but they all wanted the same thing at the end of the day, actually the only thing Minato wanted at the end of this day was his wife's soft body against his but it looked like that would have to wait. Minato would have imagined that Itachi staying in Akatsuki would appeal to Danzo.

"How uncharacteristically compassionate of you to care about our agents Danzo." He said sarcastically.

"Hokage, I know my methods have been met with some ... objections but the safety of our agents always comes first." Minato stared at him for a moment but he couldn't find a crack in his facade.

"No, as long as Itachi is happy to continue he will stay in Akatsuki." Danzo looked like he wanted to say more but he let it go.

"Yes Hokage."

"Good now if there's nothing else you're both dismissed." Just as Tsunade and Danzo were leaving Obito entered.

"The Prodigal Son returns." Minato drawled, "Where the hell have you been?"

"I'm sorry sir I had a personal issue to attend." Obito said. He looked like he was about to get on his knees and beg forgiveness. Minato just sighed and turned away, he hadn't the energy to give an hour long lecture.

"How did the Summit go?"

"Just peachy." Minato replied bitterly.

"What did Tsunade and Danzo want?"

"We finally have a lead on Pain, Itachi is going to remain in Akatsuki and keep feeding us information."

"Really, sounds like it could get dangerous, would you not take Itachi out of harms way?" Minato turned around and eyed Obito.

"Itachi is one of the best agents we have he can take care of himself, you know Danzo suggested the same thing."

"Maybe he's finally thinking of something other than himself."

"Yeah maybe," Minato yawned loudly and placed a hand on Obito's shoulder, "listen I'm happy you finally got Rin to go out with you but we've been planning this Summit for months and I need you here and focused."

"I told you it was a personal matter." He said weakly. Minato gave him a wink.

"Uh huh sure, seriously though be here tomorrow."

With a bow Obito left and gave a quick goodbye to Kushina who asked him about Rin. He blushed and muttered something incomprehensible. Minato chuckled, Obito would be a half decent Hokage if he got his act together. Feeling a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist Minato turned his head and felt his wife's body against his.

"Ready to go?"

"After you." As soon as she turned to leave Minato pulled her towards him and coverered her neck in kisses, all the while Kushina was giggling, happy that her husband still had his playfulness after all these years.

* * *

 

Sasuke knew all the alleys in Konoha like the back of his hand, but this one in particular he was very familiar with. Approaching his destination he saw two men guarding the door. Strange there was normally only one. Sasuke recognised the green suit and bowl haircut of Might Guy immediately. One of the reasons Tenten was so sucessful was because no one wanted to go up against Guy, not even the Akatsuki.

The man was an animal and Sasuke had heard many tales of the beast but Guy neither confirmed nor denied any of them. He had apparently calmed down quite a bit from his more ... primal days, but his reputation alone warranted not playing around or disrespecting both him and Tenten.

Standing next to Guy today was a mini version of him with the same suit and haircut. As Sasuke was disarming his weapons before going inside he decided to enquire about the new guard.

"Who's this Guy, your long lost son that you had in your 'Red Beast of Konoha' days, I heard all the ladies wanted to see if they could tame the beast back then?" Guy let out a hearty laugh.

"No young Uchiha, this is the new guard that Tenten requested, say hello Lee."

"Hello Sasuke - sir." Lee barked out.

"He's a lively one isn't he?"

"Yes, he reminds me of myself when I was a young lad, full of passion and life."

"Trust me Guy you've still got more than enough passion these days." Guy gave another laugh and opened the door once he gave Sasuke a thorough search. Sasuke didn't take any offence to it, he was used to it by now and could appreciate Tenten's carefulness.

* * *

 

Tenten was going through some orders when she heard the door open. A huge smile placed itself on her face when she saw who it was.

"Sasuke," she greeted warmly, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "What can I do for you today beautiful?" Tenten often called Sasuke 'beautiful' to mock his slightly feminine features.

"What's with Might Guy Jr out there, is there a problem?" His face was full of concern, which Tenten thought was sweet. Not many people, let alone customers really cared, they just made their orders and left but Sasuke was different.

"Oh, I just thought it was time to expand that's all." She gave a weak laugh to cover herself but Sasuke didn't buy it. He stepped towards her.

"You know if there's a problem I can help." He murmured.

"No it's fine Uchiha, I mean it, but thanks for the offer." Sasuke was doubtful but didn't press the matter further.

"Anyway what can I do for you today, you know I just got this new flamethrower in, it's called Amaterasu, I think you'd really like it ..." There she went again, once she got started on a weapon there was no stopping her.

"Are you listening to me?" She demanded, fire in her eyes.

"Of course I am, but listen a flamethrower isn't exactly what I need right now. I need something for close quarters."

"How close?"

"Like a hotel room close."

"I ... see." She stared at him for a second and walked over to her notepad and began to write a few notes. She was bent over and gave him a solid view of her round behind, Sasuke wondered if she was doing it just to tease him.

"What are you thinking?"

"Sasuke, you know I never ask about what you use my weapons for," Sasuke braced himself, he hoped she wouldn't ask, she never normally did. It seemed that her patience had run out, maybe she had seen the news.

"That sniper rifle I gave you ..." she turned to him, "listen I never get involved in what my customers use my weapons for but I've ... grown fond of you Sasuke and if you're going to be using this for what I think you are." She placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Just stay safe ok." Sasuke couldn't remember the last time someone actually cared for his wellbeing. He gave her a quick embrace.

"I always do."

"Alright, I should have something for you tomorrow come back then." With one last hug he gave her a cocky grin as if to tell her not to worry.

Night had fallen and the streets of Konoha were for the most part empty. After quickly collecting his weapons and bidding goodbye to Guy and Lee, Sasuke stared at the tall skyscrapers of Konoha. Most of the Kages were staying in similar hotels and that included Killer B. Maybe a bit of recon work was in order.

The first day of the Summit was over and the Mizukage was bound to need some help relaxing.


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura awoke with a jolt from her desk, Naruto's jacket draped over her. Another damn nightmare, that Akatsuki freak had left an unwanted and lasting impression on her. They had gone to rescue Gaara, when they met those two members of the Akatsuki. The blonde one had fled with Gaara, Naruto turned to pursue him but not before giving her a glance that held some sort of worry and concern but she could tell he was anxious to catch up with Gaara. She responded with a reassuring nod and like a flash he was gone with Kakashi, leaving her to explore the Akatsuki base and find the other member. With a crack of her knuckles, she entered.

_The first thing that hit her was the stench, her training with Tsunade had helped her understand what that smell was. Sure enough, as she wandered the halls of the base she found the culprit, or culprits. Bodies, mangled beyond recognition, mangled in ways bodies should not be. As she approached, she felt something prick her skin and her vision started to blur. Her body began to fail her and soon the ground looked so inviting that she just had to see if it was as comfortable as it looked. It wasn't._

_When she regained consciousness the first thing she noticed was that she had a huge gash above her right eye that hurt like hell. She then saw a man, well not really a man, more like a deformed sideshow freak with red hair. He was "playing" with the bodies like a child plays with a new toy. Her hands were bound, she discovererd, as she struggled against the restraints. This caught the man's attention and he dropped the mutilated body he was currently chopping up, like a butcher did a slab of meat._

_"Ah Hiruko, you put up a good fight, I'll make sure to keep you in my memory." He turned to Sakura. "It's no small thing to kill a person, so I try to make them live on in some capacity and what better way to live on than as a fine piece of art." He glided over to her and removed his robe, revealing the full horror that was his body. Metal claws stuck out of his lower back, a spike or stinger replaced where his stomach used to be and what appeared to be some sort of compartment ln the right side of his chest. He looked terrifying and leaned in close to Sakura._

_"Want to become like this too? If you do then you'll probably get what I'm saying. A body that will be forever immortalised as a work of art, I, Sasori will be remembered always." His lifeless gray eyes reminded her of a shark. Sakura had always hated her forehead and did her best to cover it up, Naruto never understood why he always thought she looked beautiful no matter what. Well her "large, charming" forehead was going to work to her advantage now, Sasori had made the fatal mistake of getting in her personal space. She smashed her head straight into Sasori's nose and was rewarded with a large cracking sound and a high pitched howl. He stumbled back as Sakura struggled against her restraints._

_She did not spend all that time training under Tsunade to die in a dark, dank Akatsuki base, to a psychopath who fancied himself as an artist. Using every last bit of strength that she had, she broke out. Sasori was still nursing his nose but Sakura wasn't done yet. With one hand, she pulled his arms away from his face and with the other she hit him as hard as she could in his already broken nose. He gave out a strange choking noise and just as he was about to collapse Sakura wrapped both her hands around his head and brought his face down straight into her waiting knee, where she hit him square in the nose._

_She let him slump to the ground, dead or unconscious, she didn't really care. She stumbled over to his desk where she found the a vial of liquid. "This must be the antidote to that poison he stung Kankuro with." She thought and then stared at her arm where it looked like a needle had stung her recently. "Oh right the poison." She then proceeded to vomit and fell to the ground. She reached for her radio, desperately trying to contact help._

_"Ladychiyo," she slurred, "Ihavethe ... antidote forKankuro."_

_"Sakura, where are you?" The old woman's voice was laced with concern._

_"Um, I'm ... in the Akatsukibase. Imetyour grandson, he'skindofaprick." Sakura started giggling for no reason at all and started to feel really lightheaded. "Justfollowthebodiesandyou'llfind ..." Sakura finally succombed to the poison's effects and passed out._

_When she woke up, her gash was stitched up and she was lying in a comfy hospital bed. Lying on her right leg was Naruto, snoring away without a care in the world. In the beds next to her was Gaara and Kankuro. Gaara had gotten a bad beating of the Akatsuki, if Sasori was that bad she could only imagine what his partner was like. The door opened and in walked Kakashi and Lady Chiyo._

_"My my Sakura, you certainly gave us quite a scare." Lady Chiyo said. Naruto instantly sprung up and if he was a dog, Sakura knew his tail would be wagging, happy that his master had returned. This thought gave Sakura some pride, that she had the son of the Hokage wrapped around her finger._

_"Young Naruto here simply refused to leave your side." Naruto sheepishly looked away and a mild blush appeared on his face._

_"What happened?" She asked._

_"What happened, is that you saved Kankuro's life and got the first Akatsuki kill, so congratulations." Kakashi drawled. Sakura looked awkwardly at Chiyo._

_"I'm sorry about your grandson." Chiyo sighed._

_"That boy was never the same after his parents died, if it wasn't you it would be someone else, so thank you Sakura for putting him out of his misery."_

_"Is Gaara going to be okay?" She asked. Naruto looked at her sadly._

_"They tortured Gaara bad, but with any luck he'll be back on his feet and Kazekage duties in a few days." That was so like Naruto, always optimistic and hopeful. She hoped he never lost that optimism._

_"Now, Sakura you need to rest, I'll be back to visit later." He left her with a kiss on the forehead, the same forehead that saved her life earlier, she was starting to see that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all._

Sakura picked up Naruto's jacket and headed to his office.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Sakura asked, tossing his jacket at him. Sleeping on the job wasn't the professional thing to do, though Lord knows Tsunade did it often enough.

"You looked so peaceful, besides I know you aren't really sleeping that well."

"Are you stalking me?" She asked indignantly.

"What, no!" He yelped, "your mother told me that you've been having nightmares." Sakura was taken aback.

"My ... mother, what are you guys like best friends now or something. It's good to know that you two have such great talks about me behind my back."

"Listen Sakura," he said, gritting his teeth, "your mother was worried, okay, we all are. Ever since we got back from Suna you haven't been yourself. You were strapped to a table by a madman and nearly gutted like a fish. You won't talk to anyone about it, not Tsunade, not your mother, not even me. I thought we told each other everything." He whispered.

Sakura was about to think of a retort, when she stopped to think. Naruto was right, she had been avoiding people and she had become rundown. She just didn't know how to explain it to her mother. " _Hi mom I'd just like to tell you that I was poisoned, strapped to a table and almost butchered by a complete psychopath who worked for one of the most dangerous organisations on the planet. Oh but don't worry I managed to murder him by stabbing his brain with his own nose bone, anyway how was your day?"_

"I'm sorry." She muttered. Naruto looked amused.

"You don't have to apologise Sakura, you just need to know that we're all here if you need talk."

"Thanks Naruto." She really meant it. He was a solid anchor in her life and she needed him more than he would probably ever realise.

"No problem, now you wanna go get some ramen, I'm buying."

"Sorry but I'm meeting up with Ino tonight."

"Ah girl's night out, I get it." With a wave he bid her farewell.

* * *

 

Ino arrived at her apartment later that night, she brought some take away food with her.

"So Forehead, how goes things at the super-secret-spy agency." Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino ran a flower shop in the centre of Konoha and had gotten the idea in her head that Anbu was some sort of agency that you see on the TV, actually the more Sakura thought about it, with some of the things they did, she wasn't too far off.

"Well, uh, we're currently doing security for the Summit and ..."

"Yeah that's great, so are you and Naruto doing it yet?" Sakura did a spit take and instantly started to blush.

"What are you talking about Ino?"

"Oh come on Forehead, don't act so innocent. Nowadays whenever we meet up it's always 'Naruto this' and 'Naruto that' I'd say your feelings are pretty clear." Sakura looked panicked.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Oh yeah, you get this real wistful look in your eye whenever you mention him." Sakura groaned.

"Let's not talk about that now, how're things between you and Sai." Sai was Ino's boyfriend, he was an artist and kind of socially awkward but Ino didn't seem to mind. Ino tutted.

"Changing the topic won't save you Sakura, you need to confront your feelings for him."

She would, just not yet.

* * *

 

Mei Terumi was exhausted, this summit was going to be the death of her, if the Mist didn't kill her first. Passing her security guards, she entered her room, where she was surprised to find Sasuke Uchiha. He was certainly a sight for sore eyes.

"You know when I rescued you that time, I kind of got the impression that you would upgrade your security. A guy with an eyepatch, really, and that kid out there looks like he's never even fired a gun. If I got in this easy that doesn't bode well for you." She smirked.

"Maybe I'm just hoping for my knight in shining armour to show up again."

"Hn." She walked over and dived head first onto her bed, face buried in her pillow. Sasuke sat on the edge of her bed.

"Long day?"

"You have no idea." Her words were muffled into her pillow. Sasuke began to rub her shoulders and when she purred in approval he took it as an invitation to continue.

Mei was convinced that Sasuke's hands were a gift from above and him being here to massage her aching body was her reward for all the work she had been doing.

"So I gather all the Kages were very cooperative then."

"Minato and Gaara were, the Raikage's heart is in the right place but he leaves no room for compromise and Ohnoki's an asshole." Sasuke chuckled at this and continued his massage.

"What do you know about the Raikage's brother?"

"Killer B, why you want an autograph?" She teased.

"Hn."

"He's actually a really nice guy, very passionate and always courteous." Sasuke didn't want to appear suspicous, so he left it at that. If Killer B was such a nice guy why did Pain want him dead?

After a few minutes in silence she turned around and leaned her forehead against his.

"I missed you." He quirked an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Of course, do you know how long it has been since I've had sex."

"Are you using me for my body?"

"Are you complaining Uchiha?" He hoisted her to her feet.

"I suppose not, better keep up my part of the bargain then." Pulling her in for a kiss, he unzipped her blue dress and pushed her back onto the bed. Taking an appreciative look at her half-naked body, Sasuke took of his shirt and got on his knees. He took off her panties and threw them across the room, an unwanted nuisance. He began planting kisses along her inner thigh, he always enjoyed a bit of teasing beforehand and she probably deserved it this time.

Mei threw back her head as she felt Sasuke plunge his mouth into where she so desperately wanted it. Her hands found their way into his silky, black hair, denying him air until he finished the job at hand. Sasuke always struck her as a person who put all of his effort into whatever he was doing, and at the rate he was eating her out, she was being proven right. Although she did wonder how long he could hold his breath.

Sasuke used light flicks of his tongue to draw moans of pleasure from her, that ego of his was out in full force and, judging by the tightness in his pants, it wasn't the only thing. Twice he brought Mei to the brink of release and he would have gone a third, if her fingers digging into his scalp wasn't so painful and the lack of oxygen was really becoming an issue. He could sense she was becoming frustrated, so he'd give her the release she so desperately sought.

Sasuke added two fingers into the mix and this was enough to make Mei come undone. Sasuke stood up, some remnants of her still on his lips but he quickly licked them off.

Mei was looking up at him in a daze, the most alarming thing to her was that Sasuke still had his pants on. That wouldn't do at all. Reaching for the belt, she was assisted by Sasuke in her efforts and was rewarded when his cock sprung to life. She gave a wolfish grin as she was becoming reacquainted with her old friend.

She kissed the head of it and then took it in her mouth. Sasuke groaned, her mouth was warm, wet and tight. She began to suck and bob her head slowly, Sasuke wouldn't force his hands in her hair, he would let her work at her own pace, knowing that she would always look after him. She began to move faster and his cock was halfway down her throat at this stage. As soon he felt his own end coming, he tapped her on the head as warning but this only seemed to spur her on and soon she was rewarded with a roar from Sasuke as he released.

Swallowing the last drops of him, she felt Sasuke collapse next to her on the bed and their sweaty bodies clung to each other.

After catching their breath, Mei leaned over Sasuke and reached over to her bedside locker and grabbed an item he was very familiar with.

"You really had this planned out, huh?" He said, his voice husky. Trailing kisses all down his body, she looked up at him with those emerald eyes.

"Well if it wasn't you, it would have been somebody else." She said, as she ripped open the condom packet with her teeth.

"So I got lucky is what you're saying." He let out a low laugh, "You really are using me for my body." Returning to him, she gave him a deep kiss and he was soon back to full length.

"And what a body it is." She gently descended down his length and he gripped her thighs. It's quite the power trip for both them. She's one of, if not, the most powerful women in the world and he's one of the most wanted criminals. That bit of extra danger certainly keeps things lively between them.

Seeing her breasts sway gently had Sasuke wanting to taste them. He pulled himself up and began suckling on her left breast and kneading the other. Her nipples came alive under his touch and he felt them harden. Mei began to thrash against him and pulled him in for another kiss. Her walls tightened around him and not long after that his own end came.

He pulled her down with him, both panting and gasping for air. Planting a kiss on the top of her head, he whispered,

"I missed you too." After their first such encounter, Mei had been shocked to learn that Sasuke Uchiha was quite the cuddler. Revelling in that knowledge, she melted into his embrace and closed her eyes.

* * *

 

Plans had changed for Danzo. With Itachi's persistance, Pain was forced to reveal himself. This threw a wrench in their plans and meant that for security purposes, Itachi, and by extension Sasuke, would have to be taken out of the equation.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Don't worry about Itachi, he will be dealt with by the Akatsuki." A deep voice could be heard on the other end of the phone.

"I have a new job for you and the Root," two images appeared on Danzo's monitor. One of a blonde woman Danzo had never seen before and the other of Choji Akimichi, a well known restaurant owner in Konoha.

"Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi, both their parents work for the Hokage. Minato handled the Hyuuga assassination well, so this time we're going to hit closer to home." Minato was holding it together given the circumstances but if Sasuke was to leave Akatsuki as well that would lose them their ace in the hole.

"What about Killer B?" The voice didn't respond immediately.

"We will find another way to use the Summit to the Hokage's disadvantage. Contact me when those two have been taken care of." The line went dead. Danzo would have to choose carefully which agents to send after them. They were going to be hitting Minato hard and after one of the other nations was attacked by a former Konoha agent, he wouldn't be remaining Hokage for long.

* * *

 

He often wondered why his partner chose to stay in such shitholes. Screams of pain and pleasure could be heard coming from different rooms as Kakuzu searched for his partner. A man dressed a tight leather outfit approached him and offered to show him "a good time", he was swiftly punched in the gut. Eventually Kakuzu found his partner strapped in some sort of metal contraption while a dominatrix whipped him.

"Kakuzu, when did you start working here?"

"Leave." He growled and the woman scurried out of the room.

"Now why the fuck did you do that? I was having a good fuckin' time and you just had to go and ruin it."

"We have a new job." Kakuzu took out a photo and showed it to his partner. It showed a man with a ponytail and stud earrings.

"He's Anbu and from what I'm told he's one of the smartest people in Konoha, we're getting paid more than usual so I suggest not to underestimate him." Hidan unhooked himself from the rack and stared at the photo, ignoring the blood freely pouring down his back.

"Well then I'll make sure his suffering is worth every penny."


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke was in a jovial mood as he walked back to the Akatsuki base. He felt well rested and was meeting Tenten later to pick up the weapons for the operation tomorrow. The thought of a mission always had a bit of adrenaline flow through him. Looking around as he opened the door to the base, he saw it was clear. Suigetsu thought he was paranoid but it was better to be overly-cautious than careless. Sasuke got about five steps before he was hit over the head and his body slumped. He would've thought it was Karin except Karin didn't hit that hard. He managed to see the sombre face of his brother's partner and was dragged into the room where he first met Pain.

His team was kneeling on the ground, bound and gagged. Karin had terror in her eyes, Suigetsu looked worried and only Jugo held a steely resolve. Pain was standing in front of them, drilling them with those purple eyes. Konan and Deidara were leaning against the wall, Deidara had a shit-eating grin on his face and Konan's face was impassive as ever but Sasuke could barely detect a hint of hurt and sadness in those amber eyes.

"What is this?" Sasuke managed to mumble. Kisame was definitely as strong as he looked, he wondered briefly who would win in a fight: him or Guy.

"Sasuke, good of you to join us. It's such a shame your brother couldn't be here." Sasuke went cold inside, was his brother...

"Where is he?" Pain asked.

"You're asking me?" Sasuke retorted, "I'd have assumed you kept tabs on all of us." Pain motioned to Deidara, who walked over to Jugo and pulled out a grenade.

"I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation, so I'll let Deidara give a little demonstration." Deidara yanked out Jugo's gag and replaced with the grenade. Sasuke made the mistake of making brief eye contact with Jugo before the grenade went off. That look he gave him would likely be in Sasuke's nightmares for a while. Suigetsu had blood now covering the right side of his body as he gazed at whatever was left of Jugo. Karin began crying and stared pleadingly at Sasuke. He had two team members left and had to think of a plan.

"You see Sasuke, I came across some troubling information about your brother. It seems he was an undercover agent working for Anbu and has now fled." Sasuke was shocked, his brother an undercover agent. It made Sasuke almost want laugh because the sad thing was, he absolutely believed it. It always struck Sasuke as odd that golden boy Itachi Uchiha, would not only abandon Konoha but go to possibly the biggest threat Konoha has ever seen. Like the good younger brother that he was, Sasuke blindly accepted Itachi's decision and followed him, like a dog wagging its tail and following its master.

"I didn't know." He said lowly. Pain only laughed at this and put his hands on Suigetsu's shoulders.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that, isn't it a bit coincidental that you both go missing last night?"

"I was doing recon on Killer B, " he tried, "why would I come back if I was still with Anbu?"

"Good question, let's ask Suigetsu. What do you think Suigetsu, should I kill Sasuke and let you both go?" He motioned to Karin. Suigetsu merely narrowed his eyes at him.

"I must say Sasuke, your team is certainly loyal." He looked at Kisame, "I wonder if mine are as devoted to the cause." He stepped away from Suigetsu and nodded at Kisame, who stood there hesitantly. Kisame knew Suigetsu's brother well and they used to roll in the same group back in the Mist, though how Pain knew this was a mystery. Probably found out from Konan, cold-hearted bitch like her who picked up every little detail, yeah definitely Konan.

Deidara took his place next to Sasuke, as Kisame walked over to Suigetsu and unsheathed his sword. Sasuke wasn't tied down and from his position on the ground, he spotted a flashbang in Deidara's pocket. Kisame placed his sword on Suigetsu's shoulders as if he was about to knight him.

After a moment of tense silence of Kisame looking at Suigetsu's pitiful state he cut off his head in one smooth motion. Sasuke stared at the floor, the wall, anywhere but at Karin's sobbing form. It finally occured to Sasuke that Pain had no intention of letting them go.

"One teammate left Sasuke and you can't even look at her." Pain tutted, "I had a friend die in my arms before, it was the single most painful moment in my entire life." He marched over to Sasuke.

"Now you're going to watch her die, like I watched him die." He growled and pulled a knife out.

"No don't." He pleaded. Karin screams came out muffled against her gag. Pain leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Sasuke couldn't hear but it sounded like he said something about 'Uzumaki'. Just as the knife made a mess of her throat, Sasuke stood and headbutted Deidara. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw blood pump out of her neck like water from a leaky pipe.

He reached for the flashbang in Deidara's pocket, threw it and ran. Just as he was about to go down the stairs to where the exit was, he was clotheslined by a hulking figure that rivalled Kisame in size. He was bald and had piercings all over his head. Sasuke rolled as a fist made contact with the ground. If the man hurt his hand, he gave no sign of it. Sasuke jumped back to gain some distance when a bullet went through his right thigh.

Sasuke cried out in pain and saw the perpetrator. A woman who looked like a crack addict and had orange hair. How many other fucking members did the Akatsuki have? Sasuke wasn't going to win a straight up fight like this. He limped away quickly but strangely they didn't follow him. He made it to his room where another person with orange hair was waiting for him.

This was getting ridiculous. Who were all these people and how had he not met them? He quickly grabbed his sword, Kusanagi, off the table and got into a fighting stance. This fat bastard was blocking his path to the window, which was the only escape route left.

Sasuke felt a sharp pain enter his side, as another person he had never seen before stuck a knife identical to the one Pain killed Karin with.

He had to get out of here. He elbowed the man who stabbed him, ran at the fat man and ducked under a fist. He got a good slice on the guy's back and managed to kick him back. He jumped out of the window without any hesitation, rolling as he hit the ground. He saw a nearby taxi and dived in the back seat.

Sasuke gave the driver Tenten's address and felt the wound on his back. A purple liquid, similar to Pain's eyes, was mixed in with his blood. He had never seen it before and it was probably placed on that knife. He started to feel sick and didn't even notice they arrived. Luckily he had some money in his pocket and tossed it carelessly at the driver. He staggered over to Guy and Lee. They rushed over to him and he collapsed.

* * *

He awoke in a warm bed and Tenten giving him an even warmer smile, stroking his hair. Her chocolate eyes instantly calmed him and he felt slightly better.

"Hey beautiful." She said softly. "You had me worried there for a second, I took the bullet out of your leg and stitched you up. It appears the poison has worn off also."

Sasuke sat up and took in his surroundings. It looked like he was in Tenten's apartment, if the pistol on the locker and the shotgun in the corner were anything to go by anyway. Sasuke didn't say anything, the image of his team being executed was ingrained in his head. He tried to stand up but a shooting pain up his right leg forced him back down.

"Sasuke, I don't mean to pry but seeing as how I patched you up, I'd like to know what happened." Sasuke looked at her and considered it. He needed all the friends he could get right now, so he began to tell her everything, starting from when he left Anbu.

* * *

 

Pain looked at his five personal soldiers after their encounter with Sasuke. Naraka was currently patching up Preta, who got badly sliced from Sasuke. From what he understood Asura slowed Sasuke down, Animal managed to shoot him, Preta stalled him while Human stabbed him with some Rinnegan. Unfortunately, he got away before the poison took effect and would soon wear off.

Konan approached him and informed him that Hidan and Kakuzu were moving towards their target. She seemed hurt ever since she found out Itachi was not on their side. More heartbreak was the last thing she deserved and when they found Itachi, he was going to show him the true meaning of pain.

For now though he had to find Sasuke and then it would be time for the Six Paths of Pain to move against the Hokage. His friend's death would be avenged, one way or another.

* * *

 

Choji inspected the meal that he was making for his friends. He made it a point to cook a free meal for them, once a week. They were all walking different paths in life but it was important to him that they remain close. Ino was running the flower shop with her mother, Shikamaru was working for Anbu and he had a very successful restaurant.

He checked his watch, they would be hear soon. As he stepped out, he saw two men in black overcoats standing there. He raised an eyebrow and they both pulled out pistols and let loose on him. He fell over, taking a table with him as he tried to grasp something, anything. A wine bottle that was on the table smashed and began mixing with his blood like some vile concoction.

Gasping and staring up at the men, their eyes cold and unsympathetic. One of them put a bullet in between his eyes and the screams in the restaurant could be heard all the way in Suna.

* * *

 

Sai was surprised to hear a knock on the door. He was chopping some vegtables, preparing to make dinner for himself when he heard the noise. Ino would've told her friends that she was going out tonight and he... he didn't have friends, Ino was enough.

He opened the door and saw two men dressed in black. He gave a big smile.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a friendly tone.

"Hello sir, is Miss Yamanaka home?" One of them responded, "we were talking to her earlier about featuring her flowers in an upcoming event in Konoha and she invited us to discuss it in further detail at her home."

"Well I'm afraid she's not in at the moment but she should be back shortly."

"It's alright we'll come back another time, when she's home."

"It's really no trouble, she'll only be five minutes. Please come in." Sai motioned for them to enter. The two men looked at each other and walked past Sai.

As soon as the second one had entered their apartment, Sai's smile was instantly gone. He snapped the nearest man's neck and while the other one was trying to register if what he just saw actually happened, Sai drove a vicious kick into his shin and slammed his head into the counter top. Teeth went flying everywhere but Sai wasn't finished yet. He forced the man's head into the sink, that was full of water from when he was washing the vegtables.

Sai wasn't going to bother interrogating him. They were Root, just like he used to be. He thought that he and Danzo left on good terms but obviously not. He had had enough of the Root lifestyle and wanted to see what the world that he spent so long defending, had to offer him. He started painting again and tried to socialise but it didn't exactly go well. He was becoming increasingly unhappy and about to just give up and return to the Root, when this beautiful angel gave him the most genuine smile he had ever seen. She didn't mind his quirks or social awkardness and just seemed to enjoy spending time with him.

For Danzo to try and get to him by going after his girlfriend. Unacceptable!

The man had stopped moving and Sai let his body fall to the ground. He went through his pockets, he had a pistol and a disposable phone. There was only one number in the phone and it didn't take a genius to guess who's number it was. He rang it and sure enough,

"Is it done?" The voice of his old master asked.

"No, it isn't!" Sai said angrily. Danzo nearly fell out of his chair.

"Sai? What are yo-"

"You know I thought we left amicably but now you're coming after my girlfriend!" Danzo nearly swallowed his tongue from his shock. Sai was angry. He had only been gone for about a year but now he had all of these emotions that were torn out off him. And did he just say girlfriend, Danzo nearly threw his phone across the room. Sai had a girlfriend and it just happened to be his target.

"No, Sai you don't understand."

"Oh I understand perfectly. You don't like loose ends, that's why you killed Shin and are probably still after Yamato. Well understand this, I'm coming for you." Danzo heard the line go dead and stared at the phone in silence and shock. When his senses returned to him he began to swear and smash the phone off his desk.

Sai looked at the two corpses and wondered how he was going to get them out of here. On top of that Ino was still in danger, speak of the devil his phone began to ring.

"S-Sai." She said between sobs. Sai's heart stopped, he had one thing that made life worth living and if he lost her, he honestly didn't know what he'd do.

"Ino, what's wrong?" His voice was laced with unnatural concern.

"Choji has been-has been murdered. Two men came in his restaurant and shot him." Now Sai was confused. Choji as well, why would the Root take out Choji Akimichi. Sai met him once and he was a gentleman. Maybe there actually was more to this than him, Danzo had the answers and Sai would get them.

"Can I do anything?"

"No, I'm trying to reach Shikamaru but he's not answering. I'm here with Choji's and my dad at the moment so I should be home tomorrow. I don't want you to see me like this." Sai smiled sadly, always focused on her appearance. It would give Sai ample time to clear the bodies.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, I love you." He said. This caught Ino off guard, as it was the first time either of them had said that. She was really surprised that Sai was the first one to say it.

"I love you too." She sniffed.

Sai looked at the two bodies and sighed. It seemed he would be cutting very different meat tonight.

* * *

 

Shikamaru took one last look at himself in the mirror.

"For the love of ... you look fine Shikamaru, you're going to be late." Called the naked form of his girlfriend. Temari was here with her brother for the Summit and they were trying to make the most of their time, however this tradition was unbreakable so he had to leave her in his apartment. Being the best girlfriend ever that she was, she was cool with it. Just as long as he made up for his absence.

"I've been thinking of growing a goatee," he said, stroking his chin which was cleanly shaved, "you know, so I could have something to stroke while I'm thinking." From the bed, Temari considered him.

"Yeah, I could see it. I think it would make you look pretty sexy actually." He laughed and walked over to give her a goodbye kiss when he heard the doorbell. He quirked an eyebrow.

"You didn't order food, did you?" He asked, moving towards the door.

"No."

Opening the door, he found two men dressed in black cloaks. One of them had silver hair and purple eyes and began to speak.

"Hello sir, if we could have a moment of your time, we'd like to talk to you about the religion of Jashin.


	6. Chapter 6

Minato awoke from his slumber, after another tough day at the Summit, when the phone began to ring. Kushina reluctantly slid off him and her warmth was already missed. He reached over to the phone and was surprised to be contacted by Inoichi, of all people. What he heard shocked and saddened him and Minato told him that he would be there as soon as he could. He really didn't want to lose Choza during the Summit of all times but that was the hand he was dealt.

Kushina had already gone back to sleep and Minato couldn't really blame her, this week was tiring them all out and it was only the second day. Getting dressed and stepping out into the hallway, he noticed Naruto was not home yet. Well at least he'd be able for the long hours that being Hokage required, he wondered if Obito was able for the same punishment. It seemed everything was going against him these past few days. He hoped Itachi was nearly ready to take down the Akatsuki because they were really becoming a problem for Konoha and if people like Choji Akimichi were being murdered on their own property, then things had gotten pretty bad in Konoha.

With Choza out of action, he'd have to pull Kakashi out of Anbu for the Summit and if Obito and him still argued like the old days. Minato felt physically sick just thinking about it. Jiraiya was probably laughing at him right now, from beyond the grave. He could practically hear it, Minato seriously needed to start thinking about a replacement Hokage because he has been at this for a long time. He remembered how full of energy he had been when he started off, even when Naruto was born he managed to balance everything. How the hell did Hiruzen survive so long in this job? He wondered how his predecessors would have handled a problem like the Akatsuki.

Sighing, Minato shook his head. He remembered wistfully, his days as the Yellow Flash, feared by all. His golden years were definitely behind him, wait was this what a midlife crisis was? Great, on top of everything else he was having a midlife crisis. Well at least this week couldn't get much worse ... right?

* * *

This was not going well. Shikamaru was forced back into his apartment with a vicious kick, Temari, hearing the commotion rapidly got dressed and reached for her gun. The nearest thing Shikamaru had for a weapon was a pen on the table. He snatched it and plunged it into the man with silver hair's stomach. He didn't even flinch, but merely leaned towards Shikamaru.

"Grind it in." He whispered into his ear.

"Hidan, hurry up and let's collect our payment." The other man said, only now entering the apartment. Someone paid to have him killed, why? They clearly didn't know Temari was here, so she wasn't their target. Speaking of which, Shikamaru noticed her from the corner of his eye. She was looking for a clear shot but he was in the way. Hidan had a tight grip on him, Shikamaru desperately twisted the pen around but this only made him laugh.

"You dumb fuck, you might literally be the first person to actually try and take me on in close quarters. You see most people normally run the fuck away when they see me but you actually try to fight me with a... is that a pen?" He tipped his head back and began roaring with laughter. "A pen, a fucking pen are you actually being serious kid? You're Anbu, are you not? Man, the quality of Anbu has really gone down the shitter. You've been fighting Anbu for years Kakuzu, were they always this fucking incompetent? I heard you were meant to be one of the best, I'm severely disappointed."

Did this guy ever shut up? Alright Shikamaru time to think, if there was one thing he could do, he could surely outsmart this guy. Think, think, think ... wait, that could work. It was a hell of a bluff but it could work.

"Well I'm what you might call the brains of the operation, I strive to keep Konoha ahead of the competition in both tactics and equipment." He nodded at the pen, "And that pen is actually a highly explosive device that goes off when I do this."

The second Shikamaru moved Hidan pushed him away, allowing Temari to plug him with three rounds in the torso. He looked down and cocked his head, looking puzzled.

"Hey Kakuzu, I think I've been shot." Shikamaru's eyes widened, he sounded like he had been slightly inconvenienced, not shot. Kakuzu was about to move, when a knife impaling him caused him to keel over.

"Kakashi!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Yo."

Hidan looked at his fallen comrade, then at Kakashi. "Well shit buddy, you have my sympathy."

"Why's that?" Kakashi asked, approaching Hidan to restrain him.

"Well I don't think Kakuzu will like being stabbed. See unlike me, he actually feels pain. It won't kill him but it will sure as shit piss him off." Sure enough Kakuzu got back up but Kakashi didn't even turn around.

"Good thing I've got someone who can keep him down permanently then." A large blast turned Kakuzu to a cripple and he screamed as he fell. The blonde head of Naruto could be seen, as he entered with his trusty shotgun, Rasengan. That gun pushed back whatever it hit and was his father's gift for entering Anbu. It was a vital part of Team 7 and had saved his life more times than he could remember.

Naruto walked over to Kakuzu, who was desperately crawling away and pointed the cannon at his head.

"Guess Sakura and I are at one each now." He said coldly and pulled the trigger. Hidan looked slightly saddened at his partner's death. Temari and Naruto pointed their guns at him while Kakashi moved slowly towards him. He ignored them and looked at Shikamaru, eyes filled with fury.

"You motherfucker, vengeance will be mine. On Jashin's name I swear it, you'll die screaming in agony." His words and the anger behind them caused Shikamaru to shudder internally. Suddenly Hidan began foaming at the mouth and Kakashi grabbed him.

"Shit, he's got cyanide." Even though it would have been good to capture him alive, Shikamaru was relieved that he was dead. Turning to Temari, he gave her a once over to make sure she was alright. She gave a nudge to reassure him and he relaxed, a cigarette sounded good right about now.

"Good thing you two happened to show up." Kakashi looked sheepishly.

"Yes, well your friend Ino to check on you."

"Ino? Why what's wrong?" Naruto looked at his bloodstained boots awkwardly.

"Allow me to explain." Kakashi said sadly.

* * *

Sasuke woke in the same warm bed as last night when Tenten had patched him up. He spent most of the night just telling her everything while she listened intently. He had to admit, it felt good getting it off his chest. After he had finished she sat there silently, digesting all he had told her. He himself was still trying to piece it altogether, the second he was back to full health he would find Itachi and get some answers.

Tenten told him awkwardly, that she only had one bed and that they would have to share. He honestly could have cared less because sex was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He then realised that he screwed up, he had gotten her involved. As she shifted under the covers, he couldn't help but look at her with terror. The Akatsuki knew where he got weapons for each of his missions and it was only a matter of time before they found them.

With thoughts about what would happen to both of them if they were found, he didn't have a peaceful sleep.

He had to get well in order to take the heat off of Tenten. Speaking of which, she wasn't in the bed next to him. He tried standing up again only to find that his leg was still sore, in fairness to Tenten though her stitches were better than anything he could do.

A door opened and steam escaped the room as Tenten stepped out. Sasuke was taken aback, she had her hair down and was only wearing a robe, giving him a nice view of her tanned legs. She really should wear her hair down more often, it looked better than looking like a panda.

"How are you feeling Sasuke?" He cleared his throat.

"Uh a bit better, thanks. I could use a shower as well actually, still got some blood on me." She looked disturbed and he immediately regretted his choice of words.

"Oh, well let me help you." She grabbed his arm and helped him to the bathroom. "I think you'll need some new clothes."

He agreed, his white shirt was covered in blood and his trousers have a hole in them. Stepping into the shower, he braced himself and put some weight on his leg. He felt confident enough to stand on his own.

"Care to join me?" He asked giving Tenten a smirk, causing her to blush.

"Another time beautiful, I've got to get you some clothes. On the other hand you might be better off without them." He chuckled at this.

"Just don't get me anything ridiculous, like a poncho or something." The image of him in a poncho caused Tenten to laugh. His face turned serious.

"Tenten, be careful! The Akatsuki might not know what you look like but they're looking for us and they're resourceful."

"Don't worry Sasuke, I'll be fine. Help yourself to some food and whatever else you want."

"Thank you, for everything." He whispered sincerely, she left him with a wink. The warm water washed away all the blood and grime, his arms had some scars from the window he jumped out of, he felt the scar on the small of his back and stared at his stitches from where he'd been shot. Now that he had time to ponder everything, rage filled him. The Akatsuki would pay dearly, but first, Itachi.

Itachi, what was going on with him? His brother apparently was living a double life and Sasuke wracked his brain thinking about where he could be. After calming down and cleaning up, Sasuke managed to put together a short list of possible locations or safehouses.

Deep down, he hoped his brother was okay. He was running out of friends fast and didn't want to add family to that list as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura opened the door to let Naruto in and the smell of food invaded her nostrils. She invited him in and he dropped the takeaway food on the counter top. He knew her apartment well enough now to take out plates and cutlery, while Sakura got some drinks. Sitting on her couch they ate in silence, the Summit had finally ended without further incident, the other Kages must have taken pity on Naruto's dad because they were apparently more cooperative these last few days.

Naruto turned to look at her, "How's Ino?"

"About as well as can be expected. She's not used to this life like we are, Shikamaru and I rarely tell her about what we do. Sai took her away for a few days to clear her head, he was pretty adamant about it actually."

He nodded, they had no leads about who killed Choji. The description they got from people in the restaurant didn't match any of the Akatsuki members that Itachi had told them about. Speaking of Itachi, no one had heard anything from him for a long time. It was possible that he had gone dark but unlikely. They couldn't think of one good reason why he would go off the grid, if his cover was blown the Akatsuki would just kill him. It was possible he was on an assignment but he always contacted them and told them details before leaving.

It wasn't looking good.

Itachi was one of, if not, the best agent in Anbu. If his cover was blown it wouldn't be by his own fault, which meant they had an intel leak. There were only a handful people who actually knew about the operation, not even Sasuke knew, which led to him leaving. If they had an inside leak there wasn't a long list of people to look at.

"You didn't happen to tell the Akatsuki about Itachi's mission, did you Sakura?"

"What?" She nearly choked on her dumpling.

"Well, the only people who know about it are: my dad, Tsunade, Danzo, you and me. I told you in confidence and who else in that lineup would leak information to the Akatsuki?"

"Naru-"

"You were drugged and might have let loose a bit of info to save yourself." His face had a stony expression and she just stared at him in horror. Try as he might, he couldn't keep a straight face for long and eventually started laughing at her look of bewilderment. When she didn't laugh back he abruptly stopped.

"Don't joke about that." She said dourly, picking up their plates and walking over to the sink.

Naruto cursed himself, hadn't he only told her a few days ago that she could open up to him and here he was mocking her. He only meant it as a joke but wasn't thinking straight, the Akatsuki were beginning to weigh on his mind more and more leading him to act... differently, the past few weeks.

Both his mother and Sakura noticed that he wasn't smiling as much recently and his normally outspoken and loud personality was replaced with a more reserved and thoughtful one. He would often be in deep thought and drift off. His father said he was just becoming more mature and Naruto was inclined to agree with him but Sakura's hurt face caused him to reevaluate what he was becoming.

He would be damned if he turned into another Sasuke, a person who rarely cracked a smile and whose vocabulary mostly consisted of the word "hn", if that even was a word. When confronted about it Sasuke had said to him, that if he could understand what he meant, then it was good enough for him.

Sakura was furiously scrubbing their plates when Naruto sauntered over.

"Alright, that was uncalled for I'm sorry." She didn't even look up. He sighed and continued,

"If Itachi has gone underground or worse, our only lead on the Akatsuki is gone. It's frustrating, that's all." She finally looked over at him.

"Itachi is the best agent in Anbu, we both know that he can look after himself. What's really bothering you?" He furrowed his brow.

"It's the description he gave us of Pain. Red hair and purple eyes, I know I've heard that somewhere before. Even the name 'Konan' sounds familiar, blue hair and amber eyes." He leaned over her counter and put his face in his hands.

"We might have a positive ID on him and we can't get it all because I can't fucking remember."

"Are you saying you met these people before?" He shook his head.

"No, I'd remember their faces if I did. Fuck, why can't I remember the name." He shouted. Sakura couldn't help but laugh slightly and he quirked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Who knows, maybe you're the one leaking intel and can't remember it." He rolled his eyes.

"At this stage I'm willing to believe anything. Did I tell you my Dad is planning to retire soon?" She shook her head.

"Yeah and you'll never guess who he got to replace him?"

"Obito?"

"Nope," he chuckled. "The Boss." Sakura's mouth was agape.

"Tsunade?"

"Yup and you know what that means. If she accepts, and why wouldn't she, either Kakashi or Danzo will be running Anbu." Sakura took a minute to absorb all of this. On the bright side it would be a great advantage to her if the person who taught her first aid and advanced combat was running Konoha. On the other hand having someone like Danzo running Anbu made her feel physically sick.

"How will Obito take it?"

"Not well I'd imagine but Dad said to me that he just wasn't ready yet." Sakura nudged him.

"By that stage you'll be giving him a run for his money."

"Hn." He grunted.

"Naruto?"

"I don't know Sakura, these past few days really opened my eyes to what being Hokage is. My dad came home each day barely able to stand and then there's the ridiculous amount of paperwork. It doesn't sound like it's all it's cracked up to be and I don't know if I want to start a family knowing I'll have to work all the time. Having my family resent me isn't in the job description."

"You don't resent your father though?"

"Not now I don't but back when I was a kid, there's only so many times your mother can tell you that your dad is working on something important and not grow bitter. That's when I started acting out, all in a desperate attempt to get my old man's attention."

"That's when your Godfather stepped in, right?" Naruto smiled, as if he was remembering a fond memory.

"Yeah, that's when my pervert of a Godfather stepped in, may he rest in peace. Taught me everything I know and gave me a new outlook on life."

"Then you met the most annoying girl in the world, a boy who was desperately trying to get out of his brother's shadow and a mysterious, porn-reading man who couldn't be punctual if his life depended on it."

"That about sums it up."

"Uh no, you were supposed to say 'you weren't annoying Sakura. You were the most beautiful and strongest girl I had ever met."

"Well I guess you're the strongest girl I ever met. Well apart from Tsunade, actually Anko's pretty strong as well ... oh and Kurenai. Of course I can't forget about Temari." She hit him in the stomach and he doubled over in agony.

"How's that for strength?"

"Don't worry Sakura, you have them all beaten in looks." He wheezed. She rolled her eyes and led him over to the couch.

* * *

Sasuke stood in Tenten's kitchen in his new outfit, a dark gray sleeveless shirt and trousers, almost identical to the ones he wore already. Bandages covered his forearms from where the glass had left some nasty cuts, he also had bandages on the lower half of his torso from where he'd been stabbed. Tenten had also got him a purple belt which she said 'suited him'.

He didn't know what she meant by this and thought it best not to ask.

They had settled into a comfortable routine over the past few days and now Tenten was cooking a meal for him. He remembered one night when he tried to make her dinner, as a way to say thanks for patching him up. Normally cooking was beneath him but he'd be damned if he didn't approach it like he did an important mission.

Tenten was gone most of the day and he was going crazy being cooped up in here for too long. That night when she came home, shocked was the word that came to mind when describing her face. She eagerly awaited his attempts and in fairness to her she did let him down gently.

Oh wait, no she didn't. She took one mouthful and it looked like someone had tried to poison her. She then suggested some takeaway. Had he been a lesser man, his pride would have been wounded but a smart man knows their limits. Sufficed to say, that had been the last time he ever cooked.

"So what the Uchiha and the Hyuuga have always been rivals?" She asked, expertly chopping vegtables.

He shrugged, "As long as I can remember anyways. It's basically because of our brands, Sharingan and Byakugan goods are popular worldwide."

"If they're so popular, then what are you doing working for Anbu and Akatsuki. Surely there's more money in the Sharingan business than the soldier and hitman business."

He shook his head, "It was never about the money. My father basically runs anything Uchiha related but my brother didn't want anything to do with the family business. My father spent so much time on him, on trying to get him into the family business, that I was an afterthought. The only ones who paid any attention to me, was my mother and Itachi." Tenten continued to listen intently while cooking.

"My mother said that I could be whatever I wanted to be and the only thing out of Itachi's mouth was Anbu related, so naturally I became obsessed with Anbu as well. I trained hard, so hard. Anything to get my father's attention, I'm not sure if it ever worked. Anyway, soon enough I was put on a team with three others."

He chuckled, "We were good, no, we were great. Barely graduated and we had already taken out the 'Demon of the Mist'. Naruto was the son of the Hokage, I was brother of one of the greatest agents of all time and Kakashi already had a hell of a reputation in Anbu. Only Sakura seemed to be the odd one out, but she trained, harder than anyone I've ever seen. She learned first aid and combat from Tsunade."

"Wait, 'The Tsunade' as in Tsunade of the Sannin."

"The very same." Tenten gave a low whistle of appreciation, this 'Sakura' must be pretty impressive.

"Sounds like you miss your family and friends, why'd you leave?"

"Because Itachi did." He said it so simply and earnestly that she couldn't help but laugh. She resisted making a 'if Itachi jumped off a bridge, would you?' joke.

"So you left that great life you had because your brother went to join a terrorist organisation."

"You don't understand. Itachi is, was ... everything to me. As sad as that sounds to say, it's true. Everything I did was to gain his respect, to the point where nothing else mattered."

"And now?" She asked.

"No longer. I'm done being baby brother. I just have to find him, to know what really happened."

"Well then, it sounds like you could use some help."

His face turned serious, "No, you've done more than enough, more than I can repay."

She frowned, "Oh sure, you're happy for me to cook your meals and patch you up but not for any real help in the field."

"I was happy to cook my own meals."

"You would have given yourself food poisoning and you know it."

"Do you even have any real combat experience?"

"Yes" Her tone was monotone and her eyes were cold. He knew based on this alone he shouldn't pry, but did anyway.

"Such as?" She stopped what she was doing and turned to him.

"People have been stepping on me all of my life Sasuke. I've had to work hard for everything, I wasn't born into a great family, I didn't have a Hokage for a father or the best agent of all time for a brother and I wasn't trained by the great Tsunade."

She motioned to their meal. "I've had to feed myself."

She motioned to his bandages. "I had to patch myself up."

She motioned to Kusanagi. "I had to kill to survive. You once asked me why I don't have many friends. People have been letting me down my whole life, weapons have never failed me."

"Weapons rust, jam and break." He said softly.

She looked angry, "MY weapons don't fucking rust, jam or break Sasuke!" She gritted her teeth and ground out his name slowly. He didn't say anything and she resumed making their dinner.

"I don't want you ending up dead or worse," he eventually said, " I saw my team get slaughtered in front of me. I don't want to see that happen to anyone else I care about." She sighed and looked at him. They stared at each other for a few moments before Tenten walked over to a box that she brought home with her. She gave it to Sasuke and he placed it on the table.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"Open it." As soon as he saw what was inside he smiled. He took the pistol out of the box.

"My first order."

"I remember you being more of a dick back then."

Looking at her, he said gently "Seems like not much has changed." She laughed at this and he felt relief.

"So, go on I know you're dying to tell me all of the modifications you made to this one."

Chidori. It was his weapon of choice back in Anbu after Kakashi had recommended him one. He was skeptical back then but Kakashi knew a good weapon when he saw one. Together with Naruto's Rasengan shotgun it made them a force to be reckoned with. People were surprised when Sasuke Uchiha went into missions with a sword and pistol but Kusanagi and Chidori spoke for themselves.

Tenten had already gone into her speech mode about the weapon and Sasuke just felt happy listening to her speak about something she was so passionate about.


	8. Chapter 8

Kisame cautiously peered down the alley, he must have looked pretty suspicous just leaning against the wall. However this was the least of his worries. There, he saw two almost identical men standing in front of a steel door. Well this was already off to a terrible start. He was told that there would only be one and the _one_ he was talking about was more than enough to deal with.

He gathered that the taller one had to be the legendary Might Guy and had no clue who the smaller one was. It could be 'bring your son to work day', but somehow he doubted it. If the smaller man was respected enough to stand beside Might Guy, then he must be able to handle himself.

Kisame hadn't felt this apprehensive since, well ... never. He couldn't help but feel that if Itachi was still with him, he wouldn't be nearly as cautious. He'd probably be making a few crude jokes while Itachi surveyed the situation. But he had a job to do and like always he'd carry it out or die trying. The cyanide in his mouth was always good incentive to succeed. Taking a deep breath, he strolled down the alley and hoped the stories surrounding Might Guy were exaggerated.

The younger man immediately noticed him and Kisame could tell that he was already sizing him up, Might Guy seemed to barely acknowledge him. Clearing his throat Kisame began to speak,

"Hello my name is-"

"Kisame Hoshigaki of the Akatsuki. Lady Tenten wishes me to inform your organisation that regrettably, our business dealings can no longer continue. A ... conflict of interests has led to her carefully deciding that it would be best if the Akatsuki never approach her establishment again." Guy said as politely as he could.

"Conflict of interests, hm. I think you mean the fact that you have Sasuke Uchiha holed up somewhere. I'm afraid the Akatsuki have been awful worried about him and if you could just tell me where he is I'd be happy to leave." Kisame gave him a toothy grin. When Guy said nothing, Kisame attempted to walk by him.

"Maybe I could just ask her myself." Guy put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed hard. He stepped back and rubbed his shoulder. "Alright, maybe not."

"You know, you Swordsmen aren't nearly as intimidating as I remember you were." This made Kisame pause and drop his smile.

"Excuse me?" His cheerful tone was now well gone.

"Oh yes I can barely remember what you were like and seeing you now, I must say I'm rather unimpressed." Guy said, his face was straight but his eyes were mocking. Kisame's hand unconsciously drifted towards Samehada. Thoughts about the 'Red Beast of Konoha' were being rapidly replaced with thoughts of his former friends all dead. Kisame's decapitation of Mangetsu's brother wasn't helping his thought process.

"I mean you go to all the effort of owning such extravagant swords, hell even sharpening your teeth all to be defeated by one man. Now you're the only one left, the image of your face has never left my mind Kisame Hoshigaki. It was also the last time I saw my father alive." Now, with all that had been going on surely Kisame could be forgiven for overlooking that small, well, huge detail.

He remembered Might Duy exceptionally well, which was surprising considering how his first impression was unremarkable. He recalled that he even chuckled when he announced that he was going to take them all on, while his son's team fled. So, that boy was actually the mighty Might Guy, this day really was taking an unexpected turn. What was even more unexpected, was when Might Duy began picking them off one by one. Kisame happened to be the last one left, when Might Duy started to run out of steam. A sword implanted in his head managed to put him down.

Lee felt incredibly uncomfortable from his position. He could see the bloodlust in Kisame's eyes and though he masked it better, Guy had his own rage brewing inside. Not the loud and shouty kind, no it was the quiet and terrifying anger that builds up for a long time. Surprisingly enough Kisame started laughing.

"Yes, now I remember you. I remember how you turned and ran, all to leave your dear old dad to fend off seven off us. He put up a good fight but in the end a sword in his brain was enough to bring him down."

"Well if it took seven of you to bring him down, I should have no problem with just you."

Samehada was out and going for its prey. Guy narrowly managed to duck and throw a punch to the gut that would rattle any normal man, however in this state Kisame was far from a normal person. Rage was a powerful motivator and blocked off the pain. However rage made his mind go into a more primal state and his defence would suffer as a result. None of this seemed to matter to Kisame, he was like a shark who just got a sniff of blood.

Guy on the other hand was more reserved in his fighting style. Experience had allowed him to keep his head straight during a fight and no longer let his emotions control how he fought. He referred to it as 'taming the Red Beast', as he was no longer a young man and couldn't afford to fight on instinct alone. He was like a matador dancing around a bull as he skillfully dodged Kisame's wild attacks, occasionally landing a counter-blow. Eventually Kisame would tire himself out and he could finish him off.

Lee moved behind Kisame and drove a kick into his leg forcing him to the ground as Guy threw a savage punch that broke Kisame's nose. This was a mixed blessing however, as it brought Kisame back to his senses. Taking a leap back, the pain all over his body was slowly pulling him to the ground. He hoped Guy was more honorable than he was. The young lad was spirited but probably naive, at least he prayed he was.

Going down on one knee, he clutched his sides and struggled to not collapse completely. Lee moved forward to land a finishing blow, however doing so left him incredibly open and Kisame capitalised on this. He brought Samehada up and ran it through him. It was almost like he was on a shish kebab, it was such a perfect impalement. Guy reacted by quickly pulling Lee off the gigantic sword.

He knew that he didn't have much time and that if he wanted to save Lee, he would have to let Kisame go.

"Tell the Akatsuki not to pursue Sasuke, Tenten or me. If you approach any of us again, you won't be walking away."

Kisame grunted and stumbled back the way he came, Pain wasn't going to be happy about to this.

* * *

Obito entered Minato's office, where Kakashi and Minato were discussing something. Kakashi gave him a nod as he left, leaving Obito and Minato alone. They hadn't really stayed in close touch ever since their team disbanded, Kakashi opted to move on to Anbu, while Obito pursued his dream of becoming Hokage.

"Have a seat, Obito." He hadn't been in this seat often and it was strange, looking at Minato from this perspective. His desk was littered with tokens from different parts of his life. Three photos: one of his team with Jiraiya, one of their old team and finally one of his family. His signature weapon was on a stand on the corner of the desk.

Minato's kunai and his choice to use it, was nothing short of odd. Most people used knives, some used machetes, Sasuke used a fucking sword, but a kunai? It made him stand out amongst the other agents at the time and contributed to his 'Yellow Flash' nickname. While all soldiers and agents are taught to use knives or in this case kunais, most never bother. You have to be either very quiet or very fast to get that close. If the situation arises where you're out of ammo and that close to an enemy, most would use the butt of their gun to hit them with. The Yellow Flash made it work though, seemingly gliding through enemy positions with his kunai and Rasengan, which his son now used.

"How's Kakashi working out on your security team?" He asked, as Minato settled into the Hokage's chair.

"He's good, we got to catch up on old times."

"Thinking about making him a permanent member then?"

"Uh no, I need him for an important job, actually that's what we were talking about before you came in."

"Oh, well did he accept?"

Minato scratched his cheek. "He... did."

Obito laughed awkwardly. "Okay, well what's the job?"

"I need Kakashi to start running Anbu." Obito quirked an eyebrow, this was a new development.

"Did Tsunade finally have enough, she doesn't seem like the type to leave until the mission's over."

"How's Rin these days? Kakashi and I haven't seen her in ages." Alright this was getting weird, why the sudden change in subject?

"She's uh, good. She kind of left, told me that I was getting really distant and that once I got my head straight, to call her."

Minato nodded wisely. "She's right, you know."

"Listen, if it's about the Summit I said I was sorry. I had a private matter to attend to."

"It's not just the Summit, you have been slacking off and getting distant recently. You've been absent constantly and always have the worst excuses. Seriously, you gave better excuses when you were younger. Helping an old lady with her shopping is more believable than 'I had a private matter'."

Minato took a deep breath, "and that is why, with deep thought and careful consideration, I have decided to name Tsunade as my successor."

Obito went cold inside, this had to be a joke. "What?" He said, smiling an uncomfortable smile.

Minato sighed. "I'm going to be retiring very soon and we need someone who has experience and can lead. You have been showing me that you are not capable and not ready for the position of Hokage."

"And you think some drunken gambler is?" He retorted.

"Tsunade's habits have not once affected her work." Obito gritted his teeth, clenched his fist and a vein popped out on his forehead. Minato thought he was about to snap.

"You can learn under her Obito, I still believe you could be a great Hokage if you put your mind to it. Now, while she does already have an assistant-" Obito refused to listen to anymore and stormed out. Outside the office, he spotted Kushina.

"I gather he told you." She said softly and one look at her made him feel really bad. She had been filling in for him when he should have been here. There was no real excuse, he really did have to get his act together.

"Minato just feels-"

"He shouldn't have to feel that way. I shouldn't have given him an excuse to feel that way. He's right, I have been screwing up recently and it's time I redeem myself." He said this with a newfound determination.

Kushina looked impressed. '"How are you going to do that?"

He paused for a moment and thought. "I have an idea, can I borrow the key to the file room."

"The Anbu files, what could you possibly want in there?" He gave her a confident smile that reminded her of when he declared, how he was going to become Hokage. Just like Naruto did as well.

"Trust me." So she did and handed him the key.

"Good luck Obito." He merely gave her that same smile and a thumbs up. Maybe there was hope for that kid after all.

* * *

Sasuke was currently watching the news in Tenten's apartment, while disassessmbling and reassembling his Chidori over and over again. He found himself watching the news everyday while Tenten was at work. There had been no mention of Akatsuki movement for quite some time and Killer B was still breathing.

This pissed him off because it meant that the Akatsuki obviously didn't truly care if he lived or died. Why ask his team to take him out if his death didn't matter to them? Sasuke sighed as he reassembled his Chidori and turned off the news. His time in this apartment was coming to a close and he found himself saddened by this, he knew once he stepped out of that door, he couldn't contact or meet Tenten again until this whole thing was finished. He truly enjoyed her company and hadn't even made a move on her out of respect. Well flirting doesn't count as making a move, does it?

Sasuke was broken out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. In all the time Sasuke had stayed here, no one had come to the door. Chidori firmly grasped in his hands he made his way over to the door, intending to see who it was? Just as he was about to open it, an explosion sent him flying back.

He was slightly dazed and his Chidori was gone, fortunately he spied Kusanagi near to him. Shaking his head, he found he was a bit dizzy and his head hurt like hell. A low laugh was heard and Sasuke managed to look up. He couldn't supress a groan of disgust.

"Sasuke my man, we have been looking everywhere for you." God, was Deidara's voice always this annoying. He seemed to prattle on for a bit, Sasuke had zoned out of disinterest or maybe it was a concussion. Either or wouldn't have surprised him.

"Are you even listening to me? Unbelievable, I'm about to kill you and you're drifting off. You've always been too arrogant, you and that brother of yours. Always ignoring me when I'm talking about my art. You see art is an explosion-"

"For fuck's sake, shut up. If you're going to kill me, get on with it. The last thing I want to hear before I die is your stupid art." Deidara looked furious.

"How dare you, I'll blow you apart." He growled.

"Be a nice change of pace from you talking me to death." He pulled out a grenade from his coat, pulled the pin and stepped back.

"I'll tell your brother how I turned you into a work of art." Just as he was about to throw it, Tenten entered her apartment and with pinpoint accuracy shot the grenade. The explosion blew Deidara's arm away and caused some shrapnel to go into his face. He howled and clutched what was left of his arm.

Sasuke stood and punched him as hard as he could, grabbed Kusanagi and chopped off his other arm. Unfortunately for Deidara, Sasuke was like a caged animal who had grown complacent from the wild. However, that little explosion was enough to get the adrenaline pumping again and Sasuke's soldier instincts were coming back to him.

Standing down on Deidara's chest, who was screaming and crying, he placed the sword to his throat. This got Deidara to be quiet and look up in terror. He breathed a sigh of relief when Sasuke sheathed his sword, only for him to reach into his coat and pull out a new grenade. He forced it into his mouth and pulled the pin.

"This is for Jugo." He whispered into his ear. Deidara's screams came out muffled, as he desperately tried to get the grenade out of his mouth. Neither of his stumps were long enough to reach and his fate was inevitable.

Sasuke picked up his Chidori and pulled Tenten close. They both looked away as the grenade went off.

"We have to go." He said, his voice empty.

"But this is my home." She said, eyes wide.

"I am sorry, but they know about this place Tenten. Anbu will be shortly and we're not safe here." She understood what he was saying but that didn't make her feel any better. She spent so long saving up for this place and was so happy when she got the keys. Her own place.

Nodding sadly, she followed him out.

"Can you drive?" He asked her.

"Where are we going?"

"Sora-ku." He replied.

* * *

This place hadn't changed much. She couldn't believe she had actually lived here at a time. From humble beginnings was an understatement in her case, it was more like from no beginning.

Sora-ku, it was on the outskirts of Konoha and everybody in Konoha happily pretended it didn't exist. Tenten had no competition in weapons selling in Konoha because literally every other weapon dealer was here. Guns, drugs and prostitution were out of control and no one, not the Hokage, not the Anbu, no one, wanted anything to do with it.

"What a shithole." She muttered under her breath. Sasuke was giving her directions from the passenger seat, he had a nasty looking gash on the side of his head that she would patch up later.

"You know Sasuke, I thought I was your only weapon dealer. I can't believe you actually buy the scrap they sell here." She said in a pretend hurt voice, it was meant to cheer him up. It didn't. He felt like absolute dogshit, he nearly got himself and Tenten killed. That look on her face when he told her that they would have to leave her apartment tore him up inside.

"I don't, I have a safehouse here." After a few more minutes of driving, they arrived at said safehouse. They both got out and Sasuke knocked on the door. Tenten spotted two cats and began to scratch one of their chins.

"Denka and Hina." He informed her. The door opened and a girl with brown hair and brown eyes, slightly darker than her own, greeted them.

"Sasuke." She sqealed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She then noticed Tenten and gave her a hug. "Hello, I'm Tamaki, please come in." She was certainly friendly anyways. Sasuke made idle conversation with her until they got into the kitchen where an old woman with a stern face sat.

"Well, well the other little kitten has arrived."

"Hello Nekobaa." Sasuke greeted, before catching on to what she said. "What do you mean 'other' little kitten?"

"Your brother, he's in the other room." Standing beside him, Tenten could feel Sasuke grow rigid. His Chidori was out and as he moved with long strides, he clicked off the safety.

"Wait Sasuke, maybe you should see what he has to say." Tenten told him.

"Oh I'll definitely see what he has to say." He growled and kicked open the door. Inside the room a pale-looking Itachi Uchiha lay in a bed.

"Hello little brother." He managed to say with a smile.


	9. Chapter 9

Sasuke kept his gun trained on Itachi and moved closer, making sure that he was unarmed. Satisfied that his brother posed no threat, he pulled up a chair and sat next to his brother's bedside.

"Are you still with Anbu?" He asked lowly. Well that didn't take long.

Itachi looked at him for a moment. "So, you finally figured that out." His voice was hoarse and he looked sickly. Sasuke felt some sort of weight, that he didn't even know was there, lift off his shoulders. Only to be replaced by a new weight altogether.

"I didn't figure out anything," Sasuke raised his voice, "I was attacked by that partner of yours and forced to watch as they butchered my team."

"Kisame was always loyal to a cause." Itachi muttered, making Sasuke want to strangle him. Tenten interrupted him before he got a chance.

"I don't think Kisame will be working to strenuously anytime soon." This earned her the attention of both Uchiha men. It was almost imposing, having those twin set of onyx eyes trained on her but she'd handled worse than pretty-looking Uchiha.

"Who is this, Sasuke?"

"I don't see the point in making introductions, just in case you're not around long." He said snidely.

Ignoring his comment, Tenten walked towards the two. "I'm Tenten."

"Ah, so you're the famous Tenten my brother has told me so much about. You'll have to forgive me, I would stand to greet you but as you can see, I'm quite incapable." He said, giving her his warmest smile.

"That's okay." She giggled, causing Sasuke to glare at her. In all the time he had known her, Tenten had not once giggled in his presence. Within 30 seconds of meeting Itachi, she was like putty in his hands.

He gritted his teeth. "What were you saying about Kisame?" Snapping her back to her senses.

"Oh yeah, that's why I was home early today. Kisame tried to attack Guy, looking for you. Guy fended him off but Lee got hurt badly, I was coming home from the hospital and that's when I found the other one."

"Other one?" Itachi enquired.

"Deidara." Sasuke informed him.

"You took out Deidara yourself? I'm impressed." He said to Tenten.

"Actually I-" Sasuke tried to get a word in.

"Thank you, it wasn't easy but he was about to kill Sasuke and I knew I had to do something." Sasuke sighed.

"Why are you here Itachi, is your mission over? I can't see you returning to the Akatsuki now that your cover's blown and what's wrong with you anyway?" Itachi sat up as straight as he could and began to tell his story.

"I was approached by Tsunade, who asked me to attend a meeting with her and the Hokage. Minato told me that he had a top-secret mission available to infiltrate the Akatsuki but if I accepted, I would have to do something... distasteful. On top of that, I couldn't tell anyone that I was undercover not even my own brother."

"What 'distasteful' thing did you have to do. If it was to get into the Akatsuki it couldn't have been pretty, then again if the Hokage knew about it..." Sasuke mused. Itachi almost shuddered and began coughing again. Blood landed on the crisp, white sheets and began to slowly drip down. Itachi motioned to a towel that was more red than its original colour, Sasuke reluctantly handed it over. Wiping his mouth, Itachi grabbed a bottle of medication and took out a tablet.

"I'll tell you another time. Anyway, I accepted and entered the Akatsuki. I identified as many members as I could but eventually I came to a roadblock, when I realised that I didn't have a clue who the leader was. I was forced to carry out mission after mission for them and, well you know all this already. You've already done your fair share of missions for them." He said, he almost sounded disappointed.

"Hey, I was doing the same thing you were, I-"

"You assassinated people for a paycheck, at least I was doing it for a purpose. You killed Hinata Hyuuga, you went to school with her for god's sake!" Sasuke stared at him, not really having a counter-argument.

"That all changed when Pain made his presence known, you must have done something to impress him. So now that I had solid ID on all the members, I could move forward."

"You missed some members." Sasuke muttered.

"What?"

"Pain has like, five personal soldiers or bodyguards. They're tough and almost managed to take me out."

"They're known as the Six Paths of Pain. Alone, they managed to infiltrate Amegakure and overthrow Hanzo."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this, that little fact made him feel even luckier to be alive. Hanzo managed to take down the legendary Sannin, singlehandedly. If this group of Pains managed to take him out, he didn't feel so bad about losing to them. "How do you know this?" Itachi let out a low laugh.

"Stupid. After Pain's introduction, I felt confident about moving through the base. I found a room with a computer and found all sorts of information. Including an interesting fact about Danzo. Turns out he's been feeding information to the Akatsuki."

"But if he's been giving information-"

"Oh believe me, I was more surprised than you are. Why would he have allowed me to live and investigate the Akatsuki for so long? Well I don't know and I didn't have a chance to ask him. What was really surprising, was when I got a full dose of Rinnegan."

"Rinnegan?"

"Pain's personal poison. He attaches it to his blades and it affects the neuron system."

Tenten was leaning against the wall and taking all this in. "That must be the poison you got hit with Sasuke."

"It wouldn't have been a full dose if you're still walking around now. I found myself becoming increasingly sluggish but managed to get out." Itachi replied.

"What do you mean 'get out'? How did you get past Pain?" Itachi looked solemn.

"It ... wasn't Pain. Konan stopped me but I got out." That wasn't an answer.

"How?"

"It doesn't matter." He muttered. "I was in a bad way. I knew I couldn't go back to Anbu with Danzo there so I made my way over here to recuperate."

Sasuke sat there, soaking in all the information. Itachi certainly was in a bad way but soldiered on. He had to admire his brother's tenacity and endurance.

"So what's the plan now?" He asked Itachi.

"I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future and can't do anything about Danzo," he paused, "but you can." Sasuke couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm done Itachi, I can't go back to Anbu. I have no problem with Danzo, I just need to get rid of the Akatsuki and then I'm leaving Konoha."

"I can get you back in Anbu, I'll always have your back little brother. Help me save Konoha and redeem yourself from your misdeeds."

Sasuke sighed. "Listen, Tenten and I have had a crazy day. I need to think about all of this."

"Very well Sasuke." He nodded goodbye to Tenten as they left the room.

* * *

Tamaki led them to their room which contained a double bed, nothing new there. Tenten gave her thanks as she left. Sasuke threw Kusanagi to the side, placed his Chidori on the bedside locker and slumped on the bed. She walked into the bathroom and found some medical supplies. Walking over to Sasuke, she told him that he had a gash on his head.

"What are you thinking?" She asked him.

"I don't know. It would be a risky mission to take out Danzo and doing it alone is even worse."

"You wouldn't be alone." She informed him.

"No." He told her flatly.

"Don't start this again Sasuke." She was rolling bandages around his head, when he grabbed her wrist.

"Listen to me." He gritted out. "I don't care how good you think you are. You have not been trained to go up against Root Anbu, they have been trained rigorously and have been trained to not feel anything. Each agent is more of an investment than a person to Danzo. They carry out the dirty things that regular Anbu won't do, Kakashi was briefly with them and he told me some of the things he was forced to do, all for the good of Konoha. They aren't soldiers, they are highly-trained, unfeeling weapons."

"I know a thing or two about weapons."

"Damnit Tenten, if you go in there, I can't guarentee you're coming back out."

"What about you?"

"I'm expendable, my death won't be a huge loss to anyone."

"That's not true and you know it." She murmured, finishing patching him up. She got into her side of the bed and turned away from him. Sasuke sighed and got into his own side.

Hours passed and Sasuke couldn't sleep. Just when he was about to drift off, coughing from another room startled him. Checking on Tenten, he found that she was fast asleep. He snuck across the hall and entered into his brother's room, his pale skin more noticeable in the moonlight. His trembling hands were reaching for his medicine, when he dropped it. Sasuke picked it up and gave him one of the tablets.

Though he would never admit it, it scared Sasuke to see his brother so vulnerable. Sasuke always associated Itachi with strength and greatness, seeing him like this was more than a little uncomfortable. He sat in the same chair as earlier and considered how to start off a conversation.

"How bad is it?"

"I don't know." Itachi said grimly.

"Are you going to die?"

"I don't know. Maybe, it would explain why Konan let me go. Let the poison do its thing and kill me off slowly."

"And here I thought your charm won her over." Sasuke said with a smile. Itachi didn't smile back, if anything he looked even worse.

Sasuke poked his forehead and this finally brought Itachi's attention back to him with a smile. He placed his hand out and Sasuke took it, it was sweaty but he didn't mind. It was good that he was here with his brother, he felt newfound relief at being reunited with him. They stayed like that for some time and the more Sasuke thought about it, the more he realised that they weren't going to stop being hunted. He needed to protect Itachi and Tenten and the only way to do that was to take out Danzo, Akatsuki and anybody else who would dare harm them.

Letting go of Itachi's hand, he made up his mind.

"If we're going to take out Danzo, we need a plan. Intel, you can handle that seeing as how you won't be very mobile. Equipment, I'll leave that to Tenten."

"What about you?" Itachi asked, suddenly reinvigorated.

"I have the most difficult job of all, training Tenten in a number of days to stand up to Root Anbu."

"Are you sure bringing her is wise?"

"She's more than earned the right to at least receive training."

"If you're sure."

"She's tough, tougher than she seems. Get some rest Itachi, we've got a lot of work to do." Giving him one last poke on the forehead, Sasuke left the room.

He crouched next to Tenten's sleeping form, she looked so peaceful. He didn't want to wake her up but if she wanted this, then sleep deprivation was the least of her worries for the next few days. He nudged her a few times and she angrily woke up.

"What the hell Sasuke?"

"Do you really want to go on this mission with me?" This got her to calm down and nod firmly at him.

"Can you get us the equipment we need?" She cocked her head at him.

"I think I can come up with something." She said with a smile.

"Then, for the next few days I'm going to be teaching a few things you need to know, such as moving formation and how to clear a room." Her smile couldn't get much bigger and she felt giddy but Sasuke turned serious and took her hands in his.

"Tenten, if things go bad in there and I tell you to leave, you get out. You understand?" She nodded. "You have to, I have enough blood on my hands, I don't want anymore."

She cupped his face in her hands. "Nothing will go wrong Sasuke." She said it so sincerely, he just hoped she was right.

* * *

Naruto was currently in his Godfather's house when he heard a knock on the door. Opening it, Sakura walked in and took in her surroundings.

"Your Godfather left you all of this?"

"Yeah, I come here to think and meditate. I still live at home because, well it's kind of weird considering how he died here."

Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand."

"Come on, I'll give you the tour." He showed her the various rooms, one in particular caught her attention. It looked to be some sort of repair room and there was a single table with a tarp covering it.

"What's this?" She asked, reaching to lift off the tarp until Naruto stopped her.

"Ah, that's a project I'm working on. I'll show it to you when it's done." He said, giving her that big, stupid grin.

She raised an eyebrow. "Whatever."

The final room was Jiraiya's office. This was where he died, writing another one of those books Kakashi loved so much. She remembered how shaken up Naruto was when he got the news, it was rare to see him upset. She comforted him as best she could, that was how they worked. Each giving the other strength whenever they needed it.

"He certainly got up to a lot of adventures, didn't he?"

"That he did, Tsunade must have told you a good few of them." He replied.

"Yeah, she told me a few. One that I remember was how when the Sannin were on mission, he left to protect some orphans."

"That's right, he was in Amegakure when..." He drifted off as he remembered the story Jiraiya had told him.

"Naruto?"

Ah, that was a great feeling, euphoria. It was like being in a haze and finally coming out of it, it was like finally finishing a difficult puzzle and admiring your handiwork. The thing about euphoria though, with Naruto, he rarely had time to savour the feeling.

"Sakura, I need you to help me find Jiraiya's diary. It's red and has the words 'Jiraiya's diary' on the cover." He said urgently.

"Naruto, what's this about?" She said warily, she loved his energetic and passionate ways but she could only take so much of it.

"Sakura please, it's really really important." He pleaded.

"Fine." She huffed and started pulling out various red books from the huge bookcase. One of them had a rather revealing picture of a man who looked remarkably like Naruto, causing her to start having some very lewd thoughts. Naruto noticed this.

"What's wrong? Did you find it?"

"Um, no." She responded, clearing her throat. After a few minutes of searching, she found it.

Handing it over to Naruto, he began to flick through it rapidly. Eventually he stopped and his face turned white. He reached out to the bookcase to steady himself, looking over his shoulder Sakura saw a picture of three children.

"Is that who I think it is?" She asked him quietly. Before he had a chance to respond, his phone rang.

* * *

"I'm sorry sir, according to our information there is no mention of the Hokage meeting with a 'Nagato Uzumaki' today." The man behind the front desk of the Hokage's building said. He was slightly intimidated by the group in front of him, the seven of them looked pretty rough.

"Hm, well that is a pity." Pain said before pulling out a knife and slitting his throat. Konan took out the order two guards in the lobby, as they all began to arm themselves.

"Move out into the various parts of the building. Kill the guards and take hostages but do not kill any civilians." He instructed his Paths of Pain. As they silently moved out, he turned to Konan.

"You go as well, I'll take care of the Hokage." She wanted to protest but did as she was told.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Today is the day we will avenge Yahiko's death."


	10. Chapter 10

Minato's head snapped up from the paperwork he was currently doing. Was that a scream he heard? Kakashi came rushing into his office, Chidori in hand.

"They're here." He said quickly, making sure the room was secure.

"Who?" Minato asked. Kakashi stopped for a second and gave him a sideways glance.

"The Akatsuki." He said, though it appeared that he was calm, Minato could tell that Kakashi was thinking of various strategies, techniques and weaponry that could give them an advantage right now. Minato moved outside his office, where Kushina was monitoring the security feed. Obito must still be throwing a hissy fit over his decision, not that it matters much now.

"Seven in total, some are armed, some aren't. We can assume the ones that aren't have high level hand-to-hand combat training, if they feel confident enough to stroll in here without a weapon. They're taking hostages and the only people they've killed so far are the guards." Kakashi analysed coldly. The guards in the building weren't trained to take on Akatsuki and were getting slaughtered as the Akatsuki marched through the halls. Minato's other security were in Anbu or out, he thought of Choza. Was killing his son all leading up to this?

Kakashi tapped one of the monitors. "Look familiar?" Sure enough, it did.

"Pain." Minato affirmed, it matched the description Itachi had given. So, the big leader came all the way down here to meet him personally. He was flattered, and would make sure not to disappoint. Minato moved over to his desk and picked up his kunai. Holding it firmly, he familiarised himself with the feel of it. Naruto was proudly using Rasengan which left Minato only with his kunai, he would make do. He remembered the odd looks he got back in the day, a blade with three points was rare to say the least and certainly made him stand out. Twirling it on his finger, he couldn't help but think that he'd rather have no other weapon by his side.

"Alright then, shall we go and greet our guests?"

Kakashi's one eye widened, had the Hokage lost his mind? "What are you talking about? I have to get you and Kushina out of here."

Minato's face turned serious. "I am the fourth Hokage. I can't retreat when people who have sworn to protect me are getting torn apart like paper out there. The Akatsuki have crossed Konoha for the last time, I will settle this as Hokage. Kakashi, I need you to get Kushina out of here."

Kakashi considered this, then extended his hand in a fist. "I guess there is only one way to decide."

Minato raised an eyebrow, was this really how Kakashi wanted to do this? Putting out his own fist, they chose and Minato's couldn't help but stare at the result.

"Sometimes, all of those bits of paper getting torn apart can stand up to the mighty rock." As terrible a line as that was, Minato couldn't bring himself to call Kakashi on it.

"Kakashi-" He started.

"Save it, when my father died all those years ago, you both stepped in and helped raise me as one of your own. It would be an honor to repay you now." Kushina gave him a bone crushing hug and warned him not to die or else she'd make him pay. Knowing her, she would find some way to make his stay in the afterlife unpleasant just for dying on her.

"I contacted Anbu and let them know what is happening. When you get out, you let them know they have hostages." Minato nodded, not really sure what to say. He opted for placing a hand on his shoulder and telling him that he was always his favourite student.

"You're not just saying that because I might die, are you?" Kakashi joked.

"No." Minato said genuinely.

Kakashi nodded. "Can you make it to that secret exit yourself?"

Minato looked indignant. "I haven't gotten that old, Kakashi. I can still take care of myself."

"I never doubted it... goodbye Minato." Minato nodded sadly and followed Kushina out. Kakashi took one last deep breath and moved.

* * *

He took cover behind a wall and peeked out. A man with piercings and Pain were coming this way, he always got unlucky when opponents were concerned. Came with the territory, he supposed. The man with the piercings was huge and in this situation, the bigger threat. While Pain did lead Akatsuki, in this corridor Kakashi wouldn't want to be tangling with someone most likely twice his body weight. If the big guy managed to pin him, he was finished.

"Asura, we are approaching the Hokage's office." Pain stated. Asura, for his part, merely nodded in acknowledgement. Once the big guy went down, Kakashi could focus all of attention on Pain. He gripped his Chidori tightly, it was now or never.

He leaped out from the corner and fired two shots into the chest of Asura. Just as he was about to fire the final shot to the head, Pain was on him. He was fast, Kakashi noted, that could be a problem. He didn't have much time to note anything though, as a knife was embedded in his shoulder. He ducked under a kick and forced Pain back with a blow to the stomach. He brought Chidori up for the killing shot to the head, when his vision blurred. The bullet went to the right of Pain and landed harmlessly in the wall as Kakashi tried to steady himself.

 _"What was that?"_ Kakashi thought.

"The Anbu leader Kakashi Hatake, I am honored to meet you." Kakashi grunted as he pulled out the knife and jumped back. News travels fast apparently, no one bar a few people knew of his promotion to Anbu leader.

"Where is the Hokage?"

"That's a stupid question." Kakashi replied as he struggled to raise his gun and aim it. Pain didn't give him that chance, managing to disarm him and toss his Chidori away.

"Alright then, let's see how you counter this." He said, as he got into a fighting stance. If he couldn't shoot straight then he'd do this the old fashioned way. There must have been something on that knife, he just hoped it didn't slow him down. Kakashi threw a punch at about half strength, he wanted to test the waters and see what he was dealing with. While he knew it was a risk, he had to get a feel of Pain's fighting style.

Pain blocked the punch with his elbow and fell to the floor, landing a two-handed strike on Kakashi's knee. Kakashi was not expecting this at all and as his brain was trying to process what had happened while he was collapsing, Pain had pulled out an identical knife to the previous one. Kakashi just managed to roll out of the way as it landed, he spotted a purple liquid on the end of the knife. Whatever it was, it didn't look healthy.

Rising back up, Kakashi twised Pain's wrist causing him to drop the knife. With his other hand, Pain threw a hook which Kakashi caught and having both of his arms, Kakashi rammed him into the wall. Pain came out fighting though and they matched each other blow for blow. Eventually, Kakashi stepped back to catch his breath and reevaluate his options.

_"He's able to render my gun useless and he doesn't even appear to be even out of breath after that little skirmish, impressive. Now what should I d-"_

Kakashi was brought out of his thoughts by Asura, who shoulder charged him. Just as he looked up, Kakashi saw that he had a sub-machine gun and ran, bullets peppered the wall behind him. He ended up in the main offices of the building and in continuing with his string of luck, contained three more Paths of Pain. If they looked surprised to see him, they didn't show it. He dived in a cubicle to avoid another hail of gunfire.

The way he saw it, he had two advantages. First, he knew these offices like the back of his hand and could manoeuvre around them seamlessly. Secondly, when Minato asked him to join his security team, Kakashi brought his Anbu equipment with him. Minato said he wouldn't need it, but he sure was glad he brought it anyway. This included a few smoke grenades, which would blind the Paths of Pain and allow him to take them out one by one.

Therin, lay his biggest problem it was three on one. Wait, five on one, Pain had arrived and had begun explaining the situation. Kakashi took out three smoke grenades and simultaneously pulled the pins. There was no cry of panic from any of them as the smokescreen went up, they were professional and probably all as dangerous as Pain. If he was to stand a chance, he'd have to take out one of them who had a gun.

Darting through the offices, under the cover of smoke, Kakashi managed to spot an outline of a person wielding a gun. Pulling out his knife, Kakashi silently crept over. It was ironic how out of Team 7, he was the one who used close-quarter combat the least. He normally let Naruto and Sakura get up close and personal, yet here he was. He wondered if they were outside by now and had met up with Minato and Kushina. He wondered if he was going to see any of them again.

The man wasn't as bulky as some of the other Paths of Pain, and for that Kakashi was thankful. He thrusted the knife in once, twice, three times for good measure. The man didn't struggle, much. He didn't have much time, the smoke was dissipating and Pain would soon be on him.

Pain stalked the offices, cautiously looking out for Kakashi. Across the way, he saw Human on the ground and sent Naraka to check on him. Kakashi would've liked to draw more than one but he'd take what he could get. Detonating the explosives he planted on Human's body he took Naraka out as well. Two down, three more to go in this room and then Konan and another Path of Pain were somewhere else in the building.

_"Alright, next plan. What equipment do I have left? Two flashbangs and one more explosive. Maybe if I stun one of them, I'll be able to get in finish the job before the others know what's going on."_

Pain had to give credit where credit was due. Kakashi had managed to take two of them down, on top of that now that Naraka was gone, they had no medic. Another thing he had to give credit, was that for a big guy Preta sure moved quietly.

He grabbed Kakashi and tossed him to Asura, who clotheslined him and drove another knife into his stomach. Pain sauntered over nonchalantly.

"Nice movements, and a wide range of attacks. I'm afraid I need to kill you, so you won't become a nuisance to me later." Kakashi's mask was dropped slightly and for the first time in years he opened his other eye. The scar had not yet healed, probably never would. Not that it mattered now. He couldn't even move, could barely see with that poison's effects. But it was, nice, to be able to see out of both eyes for his last few moments. He didn't know why he kept his mask on for so long, guess he'd just gotten so used to it.

"The Rinnegan's effects will make sure that this is painless." Pain lied. "For what it's worth, I have no issue with you. The one I seek-" Even with his vision blurry, Kakashi could make out the golden movement and the blood which flowed down Pain's cheek like a waterfall.

"That would be me." Minato stated.

Pain cocked his head. "Good now I don't have to hunt you down." Without warning, Asura ran at Minato. Minato could've sharpened his kunai by the time the punch would've have taken to connect. Instead he ducked underneath, grabbed the arm and ran his kunai up the length of it, making sure to cut deep to render the arm useless. Next, he sent a vicious kick into Asura's legs. Satisfied at the cracking sound the leg made and that it was out of commission, Minato sent a final haymaker into Asura's throat, knocking him out.

"Your reputation precedes you, Yellow Flash. You are skilled in the art of violence and causing pain. I dare say you've been doing it your whole life, only becoming Hokage has allowed you to run free and cause suffering on more people than ever before."

"What are you talking about?" Minato furrowed his brow.

Pain ignored his question. "Only you're so fast and skilled, that I doubt that you've ever felt pain. Well, allow me to teach you a thing or two. Preta." Pain pulled out a new knife and Preta cracked his neck. Minato looked over at Kakashi and saw that he had blacked out, that was okay. He'd faced worse odds than two on one.

* * *

"So, you're saying that Jiraiya trained the leader of the Akatsuki." Sakura was still trying to wrap her head around this, as they quickly made their way over to the Hokage's building.

"He was just a kid back then, but yeah, he did."

"Alright, we know who Nagato and Konan are but who is Yahiko." Naruto furrowed his brow, he'd been wondering that himself. Itachi hadn't given any intel on anyone who looked close to that picture.

"Dunno, maybe he's still hiding in the shadows and Itachi never met him." She could hear the urgency in his voice and placed her hand on top of his.

"Naruto, I'm sure your parents are fine. Kakashi is with them."

"Kakashi and my Dad may be good, but they're not capable of taking down seven Akatsuki members." Naruto informed her as they arrived at the building. Yamato was the first to greet them and threw Naruto his Rasengan.

"It's loaded." Naruto nodded his thanks and surveyed the situation. They must have called in everyone. Shikamaru was standing beside his dad and Asuma. Kurenai was here with her team; Kiba, Neji and Shino. Tsunade and Shizune were also here.

Sakura got her own equipment, while Naruto walked over to Shikamaru, making sure his Rasengan was ready to go. "What do we got?"

"From the feed inside the building, we can confirm that they've got hostages." He motioned to a monitor which showed Konan and one of the Akatsuki members, watching over the hostages.

"It seems Kakashi has managed to take out two of them, before he got overwhelmed and your Dad also took down one of them." Naruto saw Kakashi, unconscious or dead, he didn't know. He also saw his Dad engaging Pain and another member, he was holding his own but years of virtually no combat and countless paperwork were beginning to take effect.

"What about my Mom?" Shikamaru looked uneasy before he pointed to a screen, which showed Kushina hiding under a desk. What the fuck? Why didn't she go for that exit, she could've... Naruto copped on. She must've made her way over there before Pain went into the offices, effectively cutting off her escape route.

"What's the plan of infiltration?" He asked.

"There is no plan." Tsunade piped up.

Naruto looked incredulous. "What? My parents are in there, they-"

Tsunade pointed at the monitor. "You see all those hostages in there. They're directly in front of our only entrance in. We're looking for alternate routes and I'll let you know when we find something." Her expression softened. "I'm sorry Naruto."

He couldn't hold it against her, she probably wanted to go in and save the day just as much as he did. It was shitty decisions like these, that she had to make so often, that made his Dad name her the new Hokage after all. But that wasn't going to stop him from going in.

Nodding sadly at her, he walked over to Sakura and gave her a wink, which she took as a sign to follow him. Making sure nobody was looking, he walked around the building and began feeling on the wall. If his Mom couldn't make out of this exit, he would go in and get her.

"Naruto, what are you doing." Sakura asked him and he shushed her. Feeling around a bit more, he found the switch.

"Thank you old man Sarutobi." He muttered and they made their way inside.

* * *

"You can't be serious." Sakura told him, as they creeped through the building.

"I'm entirely serious. Why do you think my godfather was so perverted. Ol' man Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed off on him."

"Naruto..."

"Heard it as soon as I said it. Anyway, turns out the third Hokage was such a womaniser that he built a secret entrance into the building for all his lady friends to come through."

"Good God, you mean he... in his office." He turned to her.

"Why are you so surprised. I heard I was actually conceived on my Dad's desk."

"Naruto!"

"Alright, maybe not desk. But I was conceived not long after my Dad became Hokage, so it wouldn't surprise me." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, how do you know about it?"

"Jiraiya showed me when I was young. I used to hide down here after I did a prank but eventually my Mom found out about it." Naruto shuddered at the memory. Kushina made her rage known at everyone that day. Jiraiya, Sarutobi, even his Dad who had nothing to do with it. They arrived at the other end.

"Alright you know the bookshelf near the file room." She nodded. "That's where we're gonna come out. I'm going to stop Pain and save my parents, can you take care of the hostages?" She was honored that he thought so much of her.

"You trust me with all that?"

"Well to be honest with you, I didn't think anyone else would come. So you were kind of my only option."

"I'm going to fucking kill you one of these days."

He chuckled lowly before turning serious. "Um, don't die and kick some ass."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Was that your attempt at a motivational speech?"

"Yeah, what did you think?"

"I thought it was better than anything Kakashi said?"

He smiled at this. "Really?"

"No." He pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Stay safe." He whispered.

"You too." She whispered back. Raising his Rasengan, he gave her one last look.

"Ready?" She nodded. "Moving." He opened the bookshelf and went right, as Sakura went left.

* * *

Kakashi awoke briefly, to find that Pain was gone. Relief went through him and then disappeared as quickly. He couldn't move and on top of that there was this horrible screeching noise. He couldn't figure it out until he turned his head to the right and horror replaced relief. Asura, dragging himself on the ground, was coming towards him. He must have woken as well.

Kakashi desperately looked around for a weapon. That sub-machine gun that Asura used earlier, it was right beside him. He must have dropped it when he went for Minato, Pain probably wouldn't have been happy if Minato was simply gunned down. Kakashi wanted to scream in frustration, his limbs just wouldn't obey him. He saw the Rinnegan drip from the knife Asura had in his mouth, as he pulled himself over with one arm.

This wasn't going to be a pleasant way to die. Making one last ditch effort and failing, Kakashi resigned himself to his faith. Asura was nearly on him, when a shotgun was placed to his head and opened it like a coconut. Except instead of delicious milk, blood and chunks went flying everywhere.

Naruto knelt down beside Kakashi. "Hey Kakashi, you with me?"

"Naruto." Kakashi mumbled, before passing out again.

"Damnit." Naruto exclaimed. He was about to try and wake him up before a scream, that could only come from his Dad, invaded his ears. Naruto rose and cursed before running in the direction of his dad.

_"Just stay where you are Mom. I'll come back for you."_

* * *

Sakura surveyed the large room which contained the hostages. Konan and another woman were watching over them. What did Itachi say about Konan again, oh yeah eyes like a hawk. Great. Sakura moved closer, slowly but surely and when one of the hostages spotted her, she put a finger to her lips. Now, Sakura was close to the hostages but Konan and the other one were across the room.

She had an idea but didn't know if she could go through with it. It would involve risking one of the hostages and might not even work. Sakura leaned out from the desk she was hiding behind and made eye contact with the hostage who spotted her. A woman, young, pretty. This didn't make Sakura feel any better, did she have a boyfriend? Husband? Kids? Shit. But Sakura had no choice, again putting a finger on her lips, she also gave a come hither motion and the woman crawled over.

Konan noticed one of the hostages trying to make a break for it and signalled Animal to take care of it. Animal fired a few shots at the woman causing her to collapse next to Sakura. Gasps and cries broke out between the hostages but Sakura just felt pissed off. As Animal intended to fire the killing shot, Sakura leapt out and turned the gun away. She landed a powerful headbutt which broke her nose, landed a powerful punch to the gut which winded her and finally, placing both hands on her head, snapped Animal's neck.

Konan moved between the hostages, denying Sakura the clear shot she needed. Growing frustrated, Sakura tossed Animal's gun aside and charged at Konan. She landed a knee which rocked Konan's world, but wasn't enough to slow her down. Sakura was like a bull, throwing big hits and hoping for a one-hit knockout. Konan glided through each blow, like paper in wind. She fluidly dodged, ducked and weaved through every attack, but that didn't mean a thing if she had no offence. If she expected Sakura to tire out, she was going to be sorely disappointed.

Training with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Tsunade, had left her with high stamina and she wasn't about to tire anytime soon. Konan, finally adapting to Sakura's rhythm, landed a kick on Sakura, which winded her. Many hand-to-hand experts were so used to dealing out damage, that when a surprise strike finally came, they struggled to deal with it. Now that she was on the attack, Konan moved in, right into Sakura's reach.

A savage overhead swing, left Konan reeling in agony. A rabbit punch to the throat, took all the air out of her and finally, an uppercut knocked her out cold. Sakura was out of breath as she walked to the front entrance to let the hostages out. Tsunade rushed over and started to question her.

"No time." Sakura told her, as she rushed over to the hostage who had been shot. Anbu began taking care of the hostages and took Konan away. One of them checked Animal for a pulse and then shook his head.

"Shizune, get my medical equipment. I'll handle her." Tsunade said to Sakura, who nodded and took off after Naruto.

* * *

Naruto aimed his Rasengan down every corner, as he moved. Pain and his Dad's fight looked to be quite destructive if the corridors were anything to go by. He made it to his Dad's office where he heard Pain.

"I thought... it would be... fitting for it... to end here." He panted, holding a pistol on his father. A Chidori, Naruto noticed. Most likely Kakashi's. Pain had cuts and bruises all over his face, but what really caught Naruto's attention, was his father's kunai, dug in Pain's back.

Rushing into the office, Naruto trained his Rasengan on him. "Drop it!" He ordered, noticing his father wasn't holding up much better.

Pain didn't even look at him. "You first." Naruto felt a sting in his back and his arms were suddenly pinned as Preta held him.

 _"Stupid, stupid, stupid."_ He had been so careful beforehand, but seeing his father made all of his training go down the toilet.

"Nagato, why are you doing this?" Naruto asked, feeling his body shut down. "You were trained by Jiraiya, just like us. What happened? What has Konoha ever done to you?" Pain finally acknowledged him.

"Naruto Namikaze, I heard you wanted to become Hokage just like your father here. And from your words, I see you suffer from even worse ignorance. It seems you have forgotten Master Jiraiya's quest for peace."

"You've got a lot of balls preaching to me about peace." Naruto shouted at him.

"Do you know what being Hokage entails?" Pain asked him.

"Of course I do."

"Really!" Pain turned to him. "So you know the power that the Hokage has, the decisions they have to make. All to protect the people of Konoha."

"What has this got to do with us."

Pain chuckled darkly before muttering. "He still doesn't know."

"Know what?"

"The Akatsuki weren't always a terrorist group. I still don't think we are, but that's beside the point. We used to be a freedom fighting group led by my best friend."

"Yahiko." Naruto breathed.

"Yes, Yahiko. He insisted that I was the inspiration but really we all followed him. We were trying to take down this take this dictator, Hanzo."

"Jiraiya fought him."

"He did indeed, in fact it was Hanzo who gave the Sannin their title, when they were in my village. That's how we met Jiraiya."

"Your village... Amegakure." Minato finally spoke up.

"Coming back to you know, is it Minato?"

"But I never-"

"DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME, I WAS THERE." Pain shouted, as he pistol-whipped Minato, causing him to spit blood.

"Anyway Naruto, when we were going up against Hanzo, he already knew about us. How you may ask? With intel given, from Konoha. You see your Dad here didn't want a bunch of freedom fighters running Amegakure, despite the conditions we were living in. Hanzo made our village a living hell and your father let him get away with it. Hanzo tortured us all but it was when Yahiko died that we snapped. Yahiko... became a martyr for us and we repaid him by slaughtering anyone remotely close to Hanzo."

"You were upset, I get it. But what has that got to do with us? You had Amegakure under control, why come after Konoha." Naruto asked.

"Can't you see the hypocrisy of it all? The third Hokage sent the Sannin to take out Hanzo, so Konoha could rule Amegakure. But when it came time, that a group who could actually make Amegakure a better place by overthrowing Hanzo, your father tipped him off because he didn't want to affect the status quo."

Naruto looked at his father, who was starting to understand everything. Amegakure, the Akatsuki and the attacks on Konoha. He was slowly beginning to piece it all together, he might have actually done it, if Pain didn't blow his brains out.

Naruto screamed and anger outweighed the Rinnegan, as he broke free of Preta's hold on him. He hit him in the jaw with the butt of his Rasengan and two blasts, at that range tore big chunks of meat out of Preta's torso.

Just as he turned around, Pain clocked him, placed his hand on his father's desk and ran a knife through it. Naruto cried out in agony, as the Rinnegan was beginning to take effect once again. With his other hand, Naruto tried to pull the knife out but failed miserably. He began trembling as Pain pointed the gun at him now.

"Revenge is like a disease, it just keeps spreading. Over and over and over again. So what do we do about this? We quarantine the patients, all of them. If we want Konoha to have a brighter future, then we can't have a leader affected by this disease. I'm afraid, I can't let you live Naruto. If it's any consolation, after you, I'm the only one left with it. And I promise you, I'll take care of it." He said, tapping his cheek, where his cyanide tablet was.

Naruto closed his eyes and heard the shot go off, but felt nothing. He looked at Pain, whose face was torn and looking down. Naruto tilted his head down.

 _"Oh no"_ Naruto thought. Mixing in with the red of her hair, Kushina's blood was everywhere. She looked up at Naruto with sad eyes, not yet dead.

"Mom." Naruto breathed. Kushina wanted to say something to him, she really did but the only sound that came out her mouth was coughing up her own blood. She died drowning in it, unable to tell her baby boy how proud she was of him and how much she loved him.

Naruto let out a piercing scream and ripped out the knife from his hand. He ran at Pain and started beating him to a pulp. His eye was gouged, his nose cracked, his lips burst and teeth popped out.

He didn't fight back, he just said one word. "Uzumaki." Having his rage quenched, Naruto crawled over to the bodies of his parents before looking back at Pain, who simply gave him a single glance before biting down on his cyanide tablet.

Sakura rushed into the office and could only stare at the scene before her. A tear-stricken Naruto looked up at her with pleading eyes, as if asking to take the pain away. She couldn't do that, so she did the only thing she could think of and held him, as he sobbed against her.


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura knocked on the door of Jiraiya's old house. No one had seen Naruto since his parent's funeral and they were starting to get worried about him. If Kakashi was anything to go by, that Rinnegan poison was dangerous. She got no answer, so she peered in the window. The inside of the house looked like a mess, ramen cups were everywhere and there was shattered glass on the floor. Naruto was clearly here but either not awake or worse. Moving to the back of the house, Sakura looked in the window of the main bedroom and gasped. Naruto's pale-form lay on the bed, clearly unresponsive and in agony. Sakura ran back to the front of the house.

She scowled and looked at the door, she hoped it wasn't expensive or sturdy. The poor door never stood a chance against Sakura's strong kicks and she entered the house. Sprinting to Naruto's bedside, she saw that he looked very sickly. He was wearing a red dressing gown with black flames on the end, and with the darker patches of red on it, she could tell he had coughed up blood.

She injected him with the cure that she had managed to synthesise with Tsunade and Shizune. Sure Kakashi had to suffer for it, from tests and whatnot, but in return they now had an antidote for the Akatsuki's main poison. She stroked Naruto's golden hair and noticed that he was beginning to grow a bit of stubble, he must have been in a bad way for the past week. She would have to wait for the antidote to work its magic and in the meantime she would clean his house up.

After an hour had passed, Naruto opened his eyes and saw Sakura sitting by his bedside, he could think of worse ways to wake up. He sat up and blinked a few times.

"How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Better, what did you do?"

"Kakashi really was in a sorry state with all that Rinnegan in his system. So we developed a cure and I came by to check on you. We looked for you at your parent's house but you weren't there, I figured you were here and found you like this. I'm afraid I knocked your door down to get in."

"Now Sakura, what did my door ever do to you?" He laughed, but there was no humour in it. She struggled for words and luckily he stepped in.

"So Tsunade is Hokage and Kakashi is running Anbu, how's that working out?"

"Kakashi has been out of commission and only started yesterday. Tsunade is doing the best she can, given the circumstances." He nodded, he didn't want to see anyone after the funeral and went to his Godfather's house, which only Sakura and Tsunade knew about.

"C'mon" he said, leading her out of his room. "I'll show you that project I've been working on. I had plenty of time to finish it." Taking her into that repair room, he lifted the tarp off the desk. Underneath lay an assault rifle, it looked somewhat similar in design to his Rasengan.

"What do you think? I call it the Rasenshuriken, I was gonna show it to my Dad when I finished it but y'know." He said, trailing off. Sakura took it into her hands and aimed down the sights.

"It certainly makes up for the lack of range on Team 7, now that we're losing Kakashi and all."

"Team 7 does seem to be getting smaller and smaller." He said, staring at the wall.

She handed him the Rasenshuriken and sat on one of the chairs in the room. "Naruto ... it's over. The Akatsuki are finished, we..." She was about to say 'we won' but it didn't feel like much of a victory.

"Not all of them." He informed her. "Bodycount: Six Paths of Pain"

"Sasori."

"Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Konan."

"We found Deidara's body blown to pieces in an apartment. Only lead on that was a white shirt in the bin, belonging to..." He didn't finish and she didn't say his name. "That leaves him and Kisame."

"But why would he kill Deidara, did he turn on the Akatsuki and what about Itachi?" He didn't have answers to any of these questions.

"I dreamt about him you know, when I was out from that Rinnegan." She gave him a pointed look and he rolled his eyes. "Not like that Sakura, keep your perverted fantasies to yourself. I'm not sure if you know this but I briefly went out with Hinata."

She nodded as he sat on the desk.

"It didn't last long until I had to end it. It wasn't easy but I knew I had do it, for her sake. You see, when I was with her I could practically feel the love emanating off her and it hurt because I knew I could never return it equally. She deserved that, she deserved someone to love her unconditionally, like she once did me. The Hyuugas are arrogant, as you know and have some 'harsh' customs to say the least. Hell, you remember how Neji used to be. He was a fucking asshole. But Hinata, she was a rare exception, one-in-a-million. I truly believed that she was going to change the Hyuuga family for the better, all she needed was some confidence. When we were together, she just seemed to go along with whatever I said, too happy to care. I knew that when she was with me, she wasn't living up to her full-potential. She needed someone by her side to love her and treat her as an equal, I couldn't give her that." Sakura took all this in, Naruto had never spoken off his relationship with her and whenever they all went out together they seemed to be very close.

"I had to tell her before I hurt her too badly. I told her she deserved someone better, she didn't seem to understand what was wrong. I said to her, once she found someone who felt the way about her, the same way she did about me, she would understand. I promised her I would always be by her side, as a friend and eventually as Hokage. I knew she would thrive and become the person she was meant to be without me." His face turned angry.

"Then I dreamt of that bastard watching her through his scope, staring at her final moments. She didn't fucking deserve that, not to die like that. She never harmed anyone or said a bad thing about anyone. Then for that motherfucker to just end her life just like that, it makes me think that he is truly lost to us Sakura. Did he give Pain intel on us, on my parents." His voice was breaking. "Did he know? What Pain had planned? I can just see him, not giving a shit about anyone except Sasuke-fucking-Uchiha."

Sakura felt her own tears at the corners of her eyes, Sasuke wouldn't do that. He might have lost his way and murdered a few... shit, now the tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"What I'm saying is Sakura, if we find him, I will do everything I can to take him in alive but if it comes to it, I will kill him." She wiped her eyes and nodded, she hadn't cried over Sasuke Uchiha in a long time and that was a habit she had no intention of returning to. She cleared her throat.

"You said you couldn't love Hinata as she loved you, why?" He looked at her for the longest time but said nothing. She didn't really want an answer, not now, not after all that. "You should get some rest Naruto, we're going to have more missions and we need you in top condition."

"Team 7 lives on, huh?"

"Always will, as long as we're around, besides I want to see this new gun in action."

"I have to see Tsunade first, have to get some answers."

"You should probably shave first, I don't really like the idea of you with a beard."

He stroked his chin, he didn't like that idea either. "Alright, I'll go shave then."

"Wait, you stay here and I'll look after you."

"You always have, thank you Sakura for everything." He was starting to sound like his old self and his skin was returning to its normal tanned colour. As she went into his bathroom, he opened his wardrobe and pulled out his orange jacket and trousers. He normally wore his Anbu gear but he felt like wearing this now, it reminded him of better times. Sakura returned with shaving cream and his razor and watched him lay it out.

"Blast from the past." She said quietly and he smiled at her.

As she began to spread the cream across his face, he had to ask. "Eh Sakura, have you ever done this before?"

"First time for everything, besides what's the worst thing that can happen?" Sakura with a razor, the possibilities of pain entered his mind.

* * *

A freshly showered, cured, shaved and dressed Naruto entered the Hokage's building. Repairs were still going on and he caught a few nods of respect from people as he made his way through the building. Shizune gave him a warm smile and told him to go ahead in.

"A week in and you're already drinking on the job granny." Tsunade smiled at the sight of him, he looked a lot better from the last few times she saw him.

"Actually, I was drinking within the first few hours of this job and show no signs of stopping. On the bright side, I've stopped all gambling, something my Grandfather never managed to do. So I'm actually proud of myself, I'm liking the return of the orange by the way."

"Sakura said the same thing, I've missed it to be honest but orange doesn't make for the best camoflage unless it's Halloween." She laughed and stood to properly greet him. She pulled him into a tight embrace and kissed the top of his head.

"How are you?"

"I'm alright, really I am. Sakura took care of me and gave me that antidote, that Rinnegan was some nasty stuff."

"You're telling me, I had to juggle: finding a cure, telling Kakashi eveything he would need to know to run Anbu, dealing with the aftermath of Pain's attack and handling my new Hokage duties." She pulled out a box from her table and gave it to Naruto. "This is yours."

What was in the box made his breath halt, his father's kunai. "I had it cleaned."

"It had Uzumaki blood on it, my blood on it." He informed her. "You knew him?"

She sighed. "We met the three of them when we were in Amegakure. Place was a warzone and they were only orphans, they approached us asking us to train them. Orochimaru suggested we put them out of their misery, I didn't know what to do but Jiraiya, he stayed with them, raised them and trained them. Once he was satisfied with their progress, he came home and left them to it."

Naruto knew what happened next, Akatsuki were formed to seek justice, Yahiko died and was made a martyr and Nagato and Konan have been out for vengeance ever since. It's that middle part that interests him though, his Dad maintained in his final moments that he had nothing to do with it. Naruto held the kunai in his hand, it was heavier than the knives he normally used but he would learn to adapt. This kunai was one of the only things he had left of his Dad and he would use it to honor him.

"Can I use the file room?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"There's just, something I have to check. Please?"

She saw the desperation in his eyes and nodded. "Get the key from Shizune and do what you need to do. And tell Kakashi to look after Anbu or else."

"Don't worry granny, it'll be as if you never left." After getting the key from Shizune, he made his way into the Anbu file room. Looking around, he eventually found the one he was looking for: **Amegakure**

**Mission to overthrow Hanzo unsuccessful. Team Hiruzen dubbed The Legendary Sannin by Hanzo. Jiraiya opted to stay behind in Amegakure. Debriefings of Orochimaru and Tsunade inside.**

Naruto flicked through to a later entry.

**We have reason to believe that the group known as the Akatsuki is planning to assassinate Hanzo, recommend immediate action.**

Naruto's eyes widened, the rest of the fucking file was missing. A cold, uneasy feeling began to fill him and he looked around the room, he was the only one there. What happened to the rest of the file? Was there an inside man? It would explain Itachi's disappearance, but why would someone set up Yahiko, Nagato and Konan but then later tell them about a double agent in their organisation? This whole thing was beginning to hurt his head.

A check of the cameras in the room revealed nothing, most of the footage showed people doing their jobs and filing. Naruto would have to work on this later because it was time to make his return to Anbu. With his Rasengan shotgun, his new Rasenshuriken assault rifle and his father's kunai he was feeling confident, but that uneasy feeling refused to leave his stomach.

* * *

Sai and Ino entered their hotel room, it was going to be their last night here. They stayed longer than expected and Sai enjoyed it thoroughly. Ino was always supporting him and it was about time he returned the favor. He helped her as best he could to cope with the loss of one of her closest friends. Sai was probably the last person to seek emotional support from and Ino knew it, but she appreciated his efforts nonetheless.

He told her things he never had before, seriously how was she just finding out he had a brother now? He told her about how Shin used to look after him and do all the things an older brother should. He obviously couldn't tell her about how he died and made something up.

However that was not the only thing he had been up to. At night, he would go and survey the Root building and had managed to gain a large amount of intel. This was their last night at the hotel, which meant he had to do this tonight. From what he could tell, no other Root agents approached their home but he had to be sure. He had to end this once and for all.

He sat on the bed and undid his tie as Ino showered. His last meal managed to bring a smile to his face, even now having a choice about what to eat and what to wear made him feel happy. His smile faded as he heard the shower running, what was he going to tell her? Not the truth, not a goodbye, something to show her how he felt.

Ino came out in one of the hotels robes and saw Sai in deep contemplation. She dried her hair and walked over to him.

"Sai what's wrong?" He took her hands in his and she didn't know whether to be scared and happy. Sai rarely initiated acts of intimacy but he had been doing so more and more, making her extremely proud of him.

"I know I have been ... difficult to deal with at times Ino. I have never been the type to wear my heart on my sleeve but you made me want to try. When you found me, I was miserable to say the least but you gave me a chance. Even when some of your friends told you that I was weird or not normal, you didn't listen and stayed with me. You made my life better and really do make it worth living. I guess what I'm trying to say Ino, is that I owe you, a lot and I will keep trying to act more normal... for you. I love you."

She straddled him and cupped his face. "Sai, I don't want you to act normal. I love your little quirks and don't want you to change. You make me happy just to be with you, if I wanted normal I'd find someone else. I love you too." This woman really was amazing, she managed to stir so many emotions out of him that Danzo had tried so hard to remove. He would slaughter every last one of his former 'comrades' before he let any of them touch her.

She pressed her lips to his and began to slowly kiss him. He reciprocated the act before he remembered what he had to do and stopped.

"I have to meet a client early tomorrow, they expressed interest in a painting and can only meet in the morning. I'll be gone when you wake up but I'll meet you at home." All of Sai's thoughts went out the window as Ino undid her robe and let it fall to the floor. This was the emotion that Sai was the most surprised she managed to get out of him, it was also the one she seemed to get out of him the easiest.

Lust fuelled him, as he practically ripped his own clothes off and pressed her to the bed. He placed kisses along her neck before making his way down. Ino rolled her eyes, if there was one, well two, parts of her that Sai seemed to really love, it would definitely be her-

She let out a moan as Sai worshipped her breasts, he nuzzled them and ran his tongue across her nipples. He took one in his mouth and she pressed him closer to her, not wanting the feeling to stop. Eventually, when Sai had his fill of her breasts, she felt his hardness and flipped them over. He wouldn't be having it his way tonight.

To her suprise, Sai grabbed her curvy behind and lifted her up. He placed her against the wall and before she knew it, he had entered her. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms crossed his neck. Sai rarely showed dominance in the bedroom and she was enjoying this new change. After they got their rhythm Sai upped the pace, he began to drive into her and she held on for dear life.

Her moans gradually turned into screams and he knew he was almost there as well. "Ino, I don't have a-" he managed to get out before she interrupted him.

"I want you to cum inside me." She whispered into his ear before she began to nibble it. This little line was enough to undo all the self-control Sai once had and soon he did just that. Ino was more than loud enough to scream for the both them as she also came.

An overwhelming number of feelings went through him as they collapsed back onto the bed. Ino placed kisses all across his chest before resting her head on it. He wrapped his arms around her and savored the moment, not wanting to leave her embrace and certainly not wanting to go up against Root Anbu. When he was certain she was asleep, he gently moved her into a more comfortable positon in the bed. He stroked her face, before placing on last kiss on it. He hoped it wouldn't be last ever kiss they would share.

* * *

When Sai left Root, he placed his equipment in a deadrop, just in case he ever needed it again. It felt strange, being dressed in the very gear Danzo had given him, which he would now use to kill him.

He silently entered the building and planned to do this with the only casualty being Danzo. Not many people made it out of Root and many of them returned when they found out that they weren't suited to life in the real world. Sai was a rare case indeed. He made his way through the building, dodging various members but still remaining undetected. He found himself standing outside of Danzo's office. He took a deep breath and raised his assault rifle, he wanted to double check that he had a round in the chamber but his training prevented him from doing so. He wanted to feel nervous but his training prevented him from doing so.

Danzo's office was quite large and Sai would be able to sneak in and get close. He spotted Danzo sitting in his chair, looking at his computer. Sai crawled closer and closer until he sprang out and fired one round into his head. Sai frowned, the bullet went into his head no problem, the problem was that there was already a bullet there. Sai moved towards his old master to investigate.

Just as he got there, he felt movement behind him. Sai's tanto was out, only to be met with a metal clang as it was stopped by a sword. A sword being held by a man in a black outfit and having bandages covering him. Sai looked to his right and saw that a woman with buns for hair, had a gun trained on him. This was not going the way he had planned.


	12. Chapter 12

Sasuke's arm began to tremble as he held his sword firm, this guy was stronger than he looked.

"Sasuke?" Tenten asked, she didn't want to do anything rash. Sasuke was staring the man down as his sword blocked his tanto, he wanted to know more about him. They got in and killed Danzo without anyone knowing, they had just begun to look through his computer when the door opened. They jumped into the shadows and waited, the man crawled over and put another bullet in Danzo's head.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked. The man said nothing as his eyes darted between him and Tenten, he was outfitted with full Root Anbu gear which only raised more questions.

"We are not your enemies. As you can see we have taken out Danzo but it seems that you had your own plans..." The man slowly lowered his tanto and Sasuke sheathed Kusanagi.

"Sai, you can call me Sai, Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Sai turned to Tenten. "And you are Tenten, no last name. Biggest weapons importer and distributor currently operating in Konoha. No trail leading back to you of course." He motioned to Danzo's corpse. "That always seemed to make him angry."

"Alright Sai, seeing as how you know so much about us, why don't you tell us your story?" Sasuke asked, not really caring that Sai knew a lot about him. They outnumbered him two to one, then again numbers didn't mean anything to the crazy bastards that the Root churned out.

"Before I do that, I must ask. Are you still carrying out operations for the Akatsuki?"

"Hn. No, I left the Akatsuki and am now working independently." Tenten cleared her throat. "Independent with a sidekick." Sasuke could've sworn he heard her mutter 'fucking asshole' under her breath.

"So this is the second time you have defected." Sai stated. Although he said it in a monotone voice, Sasuke detected a hint of either disapproval or humour from him. Quite irregular for a Root member but clearly, Sai was no regular agent.

"Very well." Sai wasn't sure if Sasuke was telling the truth but it bought him some time to think. Sasuke was such a high profile agent, that Sai knew a lot about him, if he trained with his brother a lot, he would be dangerous. Danzo ranted about Itachi Uchiha enough for Sai to know that he was extremely dangerous. As for Tenten, Danzo had sent agents to take her out once. If he recalled right, Might Guy left one alive to pass on a message, and in fairness to the agent, he did a good job passing it along without a tongue. Might Guy wasn't here now but that did little to boost Sai's confidence. The way she held that assault rifle and the calmness in her eyes didn't show a woman who had been sheltered by her bodyguard but a woman who had endured, and now thanks to Sasuke, may very well have the ability to cause him worry.

Sasuke moved back over to Danzo's computer. "Actually, I think this will tell us what we need to know about each other."

Sai stepped beside him, took note of the Kirin sniper rifle, possibly the same one he used on assassination missions, and Chidori pistol he had. "Show me your story first." He had to know if they were on the level, if they weren't then he'd be dead and Ino would be in danger.

"Hn." Sasuke had already decrypted most of Danzo's computer before Sai got here, for a traitor his computer wasn't that difficult to hack. He was probably confident that the army of Root Anbu would save him and as the two bullets in his head demonstrated, it didn't. Finally an email to Danzo, concerning them.

**Artist and Shark both failed, Duckbutt and Panda fled. If seen shoot to kill. Also, Deva plans to carry out attack soon. Would recommend staying away from Hokage's office. Finally, no word of Weasal, alliance and information he has unknown. Would recommend eliminating also.**

**-T**

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he tried to piece together everything. Who was 'T'? Why did they want him dead, to get to Itachi? And why did they consider Deidara an artist? Explosions are not art! Also, the codenames weren't the most inspired, 'Duckbutt', really?

Sasuke could very well be still in the Akatsuki and none the wiser that Danzo and T were pulling the strings at the moment. Danzo obviously knew about Itachi's mission, but didn't inform Pain immediately, why? Maybe Danzo and T were hoping that Itachi and Anbu would bump off a few Akatsuki members, forcing Pain to attack the Hokage sooner? What changed after the attack, Tsunade became Hokage and Kakashi became head of Anbu.

'T'. Tsunade was now Hokage, Danzo and the Akatsuki were dead, it worked out pretty well for her. No, that doesn't make sense. She always struck Sasuke as the honest type, not like that freak who had once trained him. Just thinking about that old snake made Sasuke's skin crawl. Plus, she would have to put a lot of faith in Itachi to find that info on Danzo. Then again, Danzo was shot twice tonight...

"Alright Sai, your turn." He told him and allowed Sai to sit in the chair, as he leaned close to Tenten.

"What is it?" She whispered.

"They have intel on all of us and are searching for us. They don't really know about Itachi which is good for us, but it seems someone wanted Danzo and Akatsuki out of the picture after they had no more use for them."

"Who?"

"I don't know Panda, but I intend to find out." Before she could begin to fathom what he was talking about, Sai beckoned him over.

"It seems you two and your brother are working on the right side, how does that feel Tenten? Sasuke has now reformed back to the good side I guess, and Itachi never left. It must be strange, seeing as how you sell weapons to criminals." Sai said.

"I'm a humanist, I don't judge. I prefer to think of all people as neutral and whatever they do with the guns is their business. As long as the person has not affected me or my friends in a negative way, I'll sell to anyone." Sai nodded, as if he was now reassured of her motives.

"What are you getting at Sai?" Sasuke asked, trying to see what was on the computer when Sai stood.

"You are fighting against the evils of this city, Danzo and Akatsuki. Now we find out that there is this T person pulling the strings, you both know he or she won't stop hunting you all. Danzo also tried to target someone important to me." Sasuke looked over his shoulder to read another email.

**The Chef has been dealt with, but the Flower is still blooming.**

**-D**

**This is a blessing in disguise. The Jashinist and the Accountant also failed, Anbu likely investigating. If the Flower still lives they won't be able to connect it back to you and your organisation. The Anbu will likely tie the Chef to Deva's group.**

**-T**

**One problem, a former employee of the organisation caused this current failure. He is apparently close to the Flower and likely intervened. He managed to connect it back to me and my organisation.**

**-D**

**Well then , I recommend taking precautions. If said former employee approaches Anbu, I will know and have him dealt with. I will arrange a meeting with you to discuss what should be done about this employee.**

**-T**

Three hits, death of a chef most likely Choji Akimichi. Hidan and Kakuzu failed their attempt and according to Itachi, they were found in Shikamaru's apartment. Which meant the third person was likely-

"So, how exactly do you know Ino?" Sasuke asked. The look on Sai's face was priceless and Sasuke thought it was impossible for him to go any whiter.

"Easy Sai, I have absolutely no interest in her. I have intel that the second hit was on Shikamaru Nara, who I used to work with. If the first hit was on Choji, it doesn't take a genius to work out who the third person is. Plus, I went to school with all three of them and their families are extremely close."

He sighed. "I left the Root Anbu because I wanted to see what the world had to offer me. It didn't start of well but then I met Ino, and life started to look up. I don't know why they targeted these three people but now maybe you do. I will do whatever I can to protect her and that meant taking out Danzo, it also means that if you're going to end this I will help you." He extended his hand towards Sasuke.

"Sorry Sai, this was a favour to my brother. The Akatsuki are more or less finished, I just have to find one more person, then I'm leaving Konoha." Sai looked disappointed. "I will tell you this Sai; Shikamaru, Choji and Ino's fathers all worked for the Hokage. Security was pretty light on the day he was killed."

"You think that T, Danzo and the Akatsuki made sure that Shikaku, Choza and Inoichi wouldn't be in the building by targeting their children."

Sasuke shrugged. "It's a possibility. Reports say Pain had his hands full with Kakashi, I can only imagine having the trio being there would have slowed him down considerably, may have even saved the Hokage and his wife. It seemed like an attack he had planned out for a while."

"What about the targets you took out while you were in the Akatsuki?" Tenten asked. That was another good point, most of his targets had primarily members of big families in Konoha like the Hyuugas. Who knows what they trying to accomplish by this, maybe burnout the Hokage or make him unpopular with the main families.

This whole web of conspiracies and deceit with the Akatsuki and Danzo was becoming more and more complicated, and they were running out of people to interrogate. Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't give Danzo a chance to speak, meaning their only lead to the spider running this web was gone. Sasuke could only imagine that if he was having this much trouble figuring all this out, Naruto would probably have ripped his hair out by now.

"I don't know and to be honest, I'm caring less and less. I'm going to erase all of Danzo's files on us, then we'll get out of here." Sasuke first deleted all trace of himself, then Tenten but stopped at Itachi's file. A file there caught his eye and he clicked it, if he wasn't mistaken this was Itachi's initiation into the Akatsuki.

A video played, showing a dark room. In the centre was a man sitting in a chair, he didn't seem to be restrained. Sasuke barely recognised him with the dirt and blood covering his face, Shisui Uchiha. A glimmer of something caught Sasuke's eye and as he squinted to see what it was, his heart stopped. Shisui was restrained, just not with rope, nails were inserted into his hands and feet. A door opened, causing Shisui to look up in surprise, Itachi walked in and looked at his best friend.

"You bastard, you really have gone over to their side." Shisui said lowly, looking at Itachi with disgust. Itachi said nothing and Shisui's head dropped. "Get on with it then." Itachi still didn't do or say anything. "Don't back out now Itachi, finish it."

Itachi's shaking hand slowly pulled out a gun and was hesitant to raise it. "It's alright," Shisui whispered "you made your choice. Just do what you gotta do." The shot seemed to echo in the small room and Sasuke could only imagine how long that sound would stay with Itachi.

After a few moments of Itachi staring at Shisui's lifeless body, the door opened again and Konan stepped in. "You did well, Itachi Uchiha welcome to the Akatsuki." The video abruptly ended, leaving Sasuke breathing hard and with a better understanding of his brother.

When people mentioned Itachi Uchiha, their tones and words were always filled with respect. Sasuke could hardly understand it, sure he was one of the greats but, he'd heard of better. Hashirama Senju was a legendary soldier before he became Hokage and people trusted his honesty and dedication, that's why they chose him to lead them. Naruto's Dad, the Yellow Flash, always had his enemies running for cover.

Then there were the Uchiha greats, Shisui was always known to be faster and stronger than Itachi and when he was supposedly missing, instead of being killed, people still counted on Itachi to find him, not knowing that he had actually killed him.

Then there _him_ , another missing Uchiha, only people hoped he was actually dead or wouldn't return. If people thought Sasuke was a black sheep of the Uchiha family, then they had obviously never heard of _him_. Saying his name was a pretty good way to kill conversations between Uchiha. His skill was legendary and word had it that Minato once engaged him, and lost. That little bit information was enough to scare people shitless and he was wanted all across the nations but he had never been found.

All of these people could easily be considered better soldiers or agents than Itachi. Really, he got caught by Konan and was poisoned, wouldn't that have been an anti-climactic end to his life. That video though, it reminded Sasuke of Itachi's commitment and dedication to Konoha. Would Shisui have done the same the situation was reversed, would any of them? Maybe, maybe not. Nobody else in Anbu would have, that's for sure.

Tenten placed a hand on his shoulder. "You good?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here." As Sasuke was about to destroy the last trace of them a Root agent walked in, took one look at Danzo and ran. "Delete all camera feeds and evidence of us. Sai, with me." He said quickly and followed Sai out of the room. He had a clear shot and aimed, but Sai pushed his hand down.

"We need to take him out silently, we don't want anyone else knowing we're here." Sasuke nodded and pulled out his sword, as Sai took out his tanto. They were both fast, Sasuke was always one of the fastest in Team 7, while Naruto was bulky and muscular, Sasuke was more toned and lithe. Naruto had the strength, Sasuke had the speed. Sai was keeping up with him through the thin corridors, he probably knew every inch of this place and as soon as he saw where the agent was, he stopped.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"We're not going to catch him but we need to buy Tenten time." He pointed at two doorways opposite each other. "We can place a choke point here, it's a long corridor so you can use your Kirin sniper rifle. There are similar doorways that we can dive into if we need to fall back."

"Alright, sounds like a plan." They heard the commotion and Sai explained.

"They share a common room, so they should be coming from the same direction." Should being the operative word. Sasuke looked down the scope, the last time being when he killed Hinata, and once he saw the head of a Root agent, started letting loose. He managed to down a few, before they staggered back to cover and the rounds started flying back and forward. Sai had started putting a steady rate of fire down and was acquiring targets like a machine, fighting beside him was different than Naruto anyway. There was a lot more shouting and profanity when fighting with Naruto.

They would soon be overwhelmed and Sasuke noticed that the Root were gaining ground. "Sai." He shouted and tossed a grenade to him, "fall back!" Sai nodded and threw the smoke grenade. Once a substantial smokescreen was up, he fell back and Sasuke put down some covering fire.

He was about to fall back himself, when a Root member came through the doorway behind him. Sasuke just managed to turn around and dodge a knife, he hadn't even heard him through the gunfire. The Kirin was slapped out of his hands and Sasuke was kicked into the wall. They struggled, locked and counter-locked moves until Sasuke's arms were pinned. A knee to the gut didn't phase him and Sasuke was blacking out from his hold. With one last ounce of energy, Sasuke twisted his arm and managed to grab the knife.

Two vicious jabs into the neck left the Root agent bleeding out on the ground. Sasuke pulled out his Chidori and fired one, two, three rounds into his head, finishing him off.

"Sai!" He called out.

"Yeah?"

"Moving!"

"Got you covered." Sasuke made his way back, squeezing the trigger again and again. They worked in tandem, holding their position until they got overrun and then falling back.

"Alright Sai, we're close to the exit, get Tenten and go." Sai nodded and tapped Sasuke's shoulder as he retreated. Sasuke was running low on ammo, he was forced to leave his Kirin back there and was now regretting it. He mistimed a reload, allowing an agent to get up close. He wouldn't be able to pull Kusanagi out in time before the agent pulled the trigger.

A bullet sailed through the agent's head and he crumbled to the ground. "Seems I'm always saving that ass of yours, beautiful."

"But what an ass it is." He breathed out as he ran alongside her. Fresh air never felt so good as they made it outside of the building, but they still had to get out of the base itself. Sai was dug in and they joined him.

"What do we got?" Sasuke asked him, as Tenten was dropping agents still pursuing them. As much as Sasuke hated to admit it, she was a better shot than him, which made her training a lot easier. She definitely had a knack for this type of thing and Sasuke was more than impressed.

"I didn't really plan to be caught, so evac could be an issue." Sai informed him, his voice was barely above speaking level and he didn't sound worried in the slightest.

"Great." Sasuke muttered. "C'mon Sai, you were Root. There must be an exit around here somewhere."

Sai considered it for a moment before saying. "There is one, but I doubt you'll like it."

"Any exit sounds good to me."

"Alright, I'll move first." He ran over to where, Sasuke assumed the Root carried out their training, and dived behind a sandbag. Sasuke turned back to Tenten, who had managed to rack up quite the bodycount during Sai and his' conversation.

"You got a spare clip for my Chidori?" He shouted over the gunfire.

"Magazine." She replied.

"What?"

"It's a magazine, not a clip. A clip is the-"

"Tenten this isn't the fucking time to get overly sensitive about weapons!" She rolled her eyes.

"Right pocket." As he reached for it, he explained the plan.

"Got it?" She nodded. "Alright go." She ran over to where Sai was and they prepared to cover him. Sasuke took a few breathes before jumping out and running over. A bullet hit him square in the back and he fell forward. Tenten rushed out and dragged him to the sandbags.

"Sasuke?" Her face was full of worry, he nodded to reassure her.

"Just... winded." He said between breaths. "You picked some good body armour."

"Susanoo. Uchiha's best." She notified him.

"Huh, you know if we were wearing Hyuuga body armour, I'd surely be dead by now. Alright Sai, where to now?"

"See that manhole? That's where we're headed."

"Aw shit." Tenten groaned.

"I think you hit the nail on the head there Tenten." Sasuke told her and pulled out his last smoke grenade. "Move." Like mice, they all scurried into the hole and were hit by the worst smell that they ever experienced.

Tenten retched and Sasuke was close to keeling over, Sai didn't even flinch. "Let's move." He told them. After they got some distance between them and the base, they found themselves in the Konoha sewers and slowed down. Sai took the lead, while Sasuke and Tenten lagged behind.

"So how did I do?" Tenten's voice was a little nervous.

"Eh, I've seen better." Sasuke replied, before Tenten aimed her gun at him and he threw his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright. You did well, very well. You didn't crack under pressure like I've seen so many others do and your movements were flawless. I'll give you a rating of ten out of ten." She didn't respond to his awful joke and seemed to beam from his praise. Up ahead, Sai had stopped under a ladder and they climbed out into the brisk air of Konoha.

"Alright then, I guess this is it. It was good working with you Sai, I'm not sure we would've gotten out of there without your help." Sasuke said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise, you're not as bad as everyone says Sasuke. You should go back to Anbu with Itachi and Tenten, help them figure this mess out once and for all."

"I think we both know I'd be executed, the second I walk in there. I will tell Itachi all we've learned and see what he says, he's actually welcome back in Anbu."

"Very well, goodbye Sasuke Uchiha and Tenten..."

"Just, Tenten is fine." She said, giving him a wave as he walked away. "So beautiful, what's next for us?"

Sasuke turned to her. "Well, I think we could both do with a shower. Then I say we go hunt ourselves a shark."


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto was bored out of his mind. Team 7 were currently at a harbour near Konoha, where they heard that new players were making a move. New players normally excited Naruto and he was extra glad to put the Akatsuki behind him, Konan was locked up, which meant that they only to find Kisame. However, unless these new targets were invisible, there was no sign of them and Naruto was beginning to go a bit crazy. He had been cooped up for the past week and his body craved for action, while they had been waiting here for the past three hours, his leg shot out and kicked the ground spastically, causing Sakura to give him a weird stare.

"Sakura, I'm bored." He whined. Normally she would chastise him for this but it had been a while since she heard him whine like that, and found it sort of cute. Besides, she was bored too.

"We'll just wait a little longer Naruto, it looks like this tip Kakashi got didn't pay off. Oh well, guess Konoha is safe once again."

"Kakashi's first mission as Anbu leader and it turns out his intel is a bust. Hell, maybe he just read it wrong with that one eye of his and right now a bomb has gone off somewhere in Konoha." He chuckled, while Sakura gave him a signal to cut it out.

"I may be half blind but at least I'm not stupid enough to not realise that you're on an open mic." Kakashi's voice came through on the radio.

"Oh." Naruto said dumbly.

Kakashi sighed from his position back at the Anbu base, Naruto may be an idiot but that didn't make him any less wrong. "Yamato, you got anything?"

Yamato was on the other side of the harbour and looking through his binoculars. "I got nothing boss. We're clear."

"Alright then, pack it up and head on back."

"Wait guys, I see something." Naruto turned his head to where Sakura was talking about. Sure enough, there was a boat entering the harbour.

"I got something too, there's two trucks pulling up. There's soldiers in the back, heavily armoured and with good equipment."

"We've got a boat here, looks like it's a handoff of some sort. Lot of security so whatever it is, it must be big. What's the play Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"Hold and observe for the moment, I want to know what their trading." The trucks Yamato spied now arrived and the soldiers disembarked. Their armour was white, with zig-zag patterns on it. Their weapons appeared to be standard fare but if they knew how to use them, then Team 7 was in for a world of shit. They moved towards the boat which, contained identical soldiers moving out.

"What do you think, mercenaries?" Naruto asked, when he got no answer he turned to look at her. Her face was filled with terror as she looked on at the boat, as Naruto turned his head, he saw what had her so spooked.

"Fuck me. Kakashi, they're unloading a Bijuu Dama."

Kakashi nearly choked on nothing and he had to recheck what Naruto said. When Yamato and Sakura confirmed it, adrenaline started to surge through him.

"Iruka, get the Hokage on the line, if you get Shizune tell her to put Tsunade on immediately. Let them know what's going on. Kurenai!" She appeared in front of him immediately.

"Yes sir?"

"Get your team ready and go assist Team 7, oh and take Asuma with you."

She nodded. "Neji, Kiba, Shino. Load up and get ready to move out, you're coming too." She said to Asuma, who responded with a smirk.

Kakashi turned to Shikamaru, who was in deep thought. "Be honest with me, what's the worst case scenario here?"

"Heh, worst case scenario is that we fail and they detonate a Bijuu Dama in the middle of Konoha, which would be one hell of a drag." Kakashi pinched his nose, first mission on the job and he got a fucking Bijuu Dama.

For all the complaining Minato did about the Summit, he did actually get some good work done. The Five Nations agreed to disarm all their Bijuu Dama, which ridded them of any threat of having a Weapons of Mass Destruction used against each other, should another war break out.

"Kakashi, I've got Tsunade on the line, asking for you specifically." Iruka told him and Kakashi took the call.

"Are you being serious Kakashi?" Her voice was angry, very angry.

"Trust me, I wish I wasn't but it's been confirmed by Team 7 that this new group has a Bijuu Dama."

"How the hell did they manage to get their hands on a WMD, I thought Minato managed to get them all decommissioned."

"He did, but obviously not all of them were. You should probably contact the other nations and find out what's what."

"Great," She muttered. "Kakashi, I don't know how to say this any clearer but this bomb does not make it to Konoha under ANY circumstances, do you understand?"

"Yeah I got it, it's up to Team 7 to hold them off until backup arrives."

* * *

While Kakashi was talking to Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura were awaiting orders and could only watch as they carefully moved the bomb.

"We gotta move Sakura." Naruto urged.

"No Naruto, just wait a bit longer." She pleaded with him.

"What do you think Yamato?" No response, Naruto and Sakura exchanged a look.

"Captain Yamato?"

"Turn around and drop your weapons, slowly." Two of the soldiers spotted them and managed to sneak around, they had been so focused on the bomb that they forgot to check their surroundings. Naruto reluctantly dropped his Rasnegan and Rasenshuriken and turned around. Now that we were up close they could see that the zig-zag on their armour was actually a 'Z'.

"So who are you guys?" Naruto asked as Sakura also disarmed.

"We're a mercenary group. We go by the name of Zetsu." Their short responses caused Naruto and Sakura to share another look.

"Uh huh, that's a nice-looking Bijuu Dama you got there. What are you gonna do with it?"

"That's no concern of yours."

"Aw c'mon, you're about to kill us right? The least you could do is tell us your evil plan before you kill us."

"No." The soldier said in a gruff tone.

Naruto threw up his hands. "Well I tried." He slapped the gun to the side and embedded his kunai in the soldier's neck, Sakura forced the other soldier's gun down and headbutted him. Naruto picked up his Rasenshuriken and fired two kill shots into both.

"You've been headbutting people an awful lot recently. Are you still insecure about that beautiful forehead of yours?"

"Meh, I kinda like turning my biggest insecurity into a strength. Now let's go." Just as she said this, a gunshot was heard on the radio.

"Yamato?"

"I'm here." He sounded out of breath. "Time to move up, we have to get to the bomb so don't get bogged down in firefights. And for the love of all that is sacred, watch your fire. We'll reconvene at the center."

"Alright guys, I just got off the phone with Tsunade. Backup is on the way but you have to stop the Bijuu Dama from leaving." Kakashi said.

"Roger that, ready?" Naruto asked her.

"Always." They made their way over and Naruto got the first kill. His Rasenshuriken was capable of piercing their armour but that wasn't an issue, he was going for their neck or above. He discovered his new gun had recoil like a bitch, even when firing in single shots which he was. When moving fast to a target, you're going to want the most precision and accuracy possible, single fire allowed for more control and prevented them from spraying bullets all over the place.

For tough-looking mercenaries, this Zetsu group were dropping like flies. Naruto and Sakura were in the nearest cover before the Bijuu Dama, which was now being loaded onto one of the trucks. Bullets whizzed by them and dinged off the metal sheet they were behind.

"Fuck you!" Naruto shouted, as he returned fire. "Kakashi, they've loaded the bomb, they're about to take off."

"DO NOT let them leave Naruto, if you do all of Konoha is potentially fucked." Kakashi all but screamed at him.

"Shit, roger that. Sakura, see that other truck, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She nodded. "I got you covered." Naruto ran over to the truck, as the one with the bomb drove off. He ducked and began firing under the truck at the enemies' feet. Yamato arrived to finish them off.

"Sakura move." She and Naruto got in the back, as Yamato hopped behind the wheel. They caught up to the truck and had to duck to avoid gunfire.

"Yamato, get us alongside, Sakura get ready to jump."

"You're crazy Naruto." Sakura screamed.

"You're probably right." He said, and as soon there was a lull in the gunfire, he jumped to the other truck. He ducked under the butt of the gun, which was in the middle of being reloaded, grabbed the soldier and bent him over the edge. In his peripheral vision, he saw another soldier take aim but then a flash of pink, a crunching noise and a scream. Sakura began to slowly disarm the Bijuu Dama by taking out the most dangerous element of it.

Naruto focused on the soldier he had dangling over the edge of the van. "Who hired you guys and why?" When he didn't get an answer he forced the man look down. "At the speed we're going buddy, you probably wouldn't die but that asphalt would make a good paraplegic out of you." Still no answer.

"Naruto, let's go." Sakura yelled at him, as he turned to look, the soldier in the passenger seat shot the man in Naruto's hands, killing him before he could talk. This caused Naruto to drop him in shock and he hit the pavement, Yamato had to swerve to avoid the corpse.

"Alright then." Naruto growled. "Sakura we good?" In response she held up a container which was the most dangerous part of the Bijuu Dama. Naruto moved to the cab of the truck and fired a few rounds of his Rasengan, creating a small hole. He took the pins out of two grenades and tossed them in. "There you go, have that." He rushed to the back of the truck and jumped to their one.

Yamato jammed the breaks, as soon they were on board. The two grenades went off and the cab of the front truck exploded. Naruto and Sakura shared a look as the flames rose and they got their breath back.

"You're out of your mind Naruto." She said to him.

"Hey, it worked didn't it? You got it didn't you?"

"And what if I didn't know how to difuse a Bijuu Dama?"

"Then we and everything around us would all probably be ash by now." He laughed and she soon joined him, the rush of what they just did was starting to wear off. Kurenai's team joined the scene and Kiba was very disappointed that they missed all the action.

"Yep, we saved Konoha again, without your help, again. Say is that dust on your weapon there Neji?"

"You can see it up close if you don't shut up." Naruto laughed again, a real hearty laugh. It was good to be back and kicking ass again.

* * *

As Sasuke and Tenten entered the safehouse, they were shocked to be greeted by a standing and smiling Itachi.

"Listen I would hug and congratulate you guys but frankly, you smell like excrement." Sasuke ignored him and pulled him close.

"Didn't think you'd be back on your feet so soon, if at all."

"Indeed, I was the most surprised of all. It seems that the poison has worn off and I'm more or less back in action."

"We could've used you last night, it was heavy. Any reports on us?"

"None mentioning you by name, only that Danzo is dead. What happened in there?" Sasuke explained everything as Tenten went to shower and change. He told Itachi about Sai and the emails.

"Hm, seems this 'T' person is the one we're looking for. Anything else extraordinary on Danzo's computer."

"There was one more email. It mentioned a Bijuu Dama being smuggled in today."

Itachi looked shocked and asked Sasuke for every detail. As soon as he heard it all, he ran out and made a phone call. Sasuke debated bringing up Shisui to him.

Not long after he left, Itachi was back. "There I left an anonymous tip about a deal going down at the harbour, hopefully whoever goes is well enough equipped to deal with whatever's coming."

"Why don't you do it, now that you're back in shape?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not capable of dealing with all those soldiers just yet. And besides, it's time. I'm heading back to Anbu Sasuke, to finish this once and for all. Hopefully I can draw this T person out or at least find out who they are."

Sasuke sighed, he knew this was inevitable. That Itachi and him would eventually split up again. The simple fact was that Itachi was welcome back and he wasn't. Sasuke wasn't resentful, he was content with the way things were now. Perhaps he would take Mei up on her offer and take Tenten with him to the Mist, or maybe he would just travel the world with her.

The more ideas that popped into his head, the more he realised that he had no idea if Tenten even wanted to go with him. She was now such a constant in his life, that he kind of forgot that she had her own. But surely after everything they had been through she wouldn't want to go back to the monotony of selling weapons, right? Questions for another time, right now he had Itachi to deal with.

"There was one final thing on Danzo's computer. Your... induction into the Akatsuki."

"Ah. I had hoped you wouldn't have to see that." Itachi said in a sombre tone.

"Distasteful, really? Try fucking sick, who signed off that? Was it the Hokage, Tsunade?"

"No Sasuke, it was Shisui himself. He... he knew what would have to be done if we really wanted to bring down the Akatsuki. He did it for Konoha, that's why I have to go back and end this. I will find T and bring them to justice, for Shisui, Minato, Kushina, Choji, your team and anyone else who has suffered."

"Hn, you're a damn boy scout Itachi. You deal with T, I'll handle your partner and finish the Akatsuki." Tenten emerged, newly dressed and refreshed.

"Very well, good luck you two. Please look after my brother Tenten, it was a pleasure meeting you." He said kissing her hand, causing her to blush and Sasuke to roll his eyes.

"And you Sasuke. Look after yourself and stay in touch. Remember if you ever want back in Anbu, I will speak on both of your behalfs. I've always got your back Sasuke, always."

"Hn, I think there's only enough room for one Uchiha in Anbu. Besides the great Itachi Uchiha is going to sort this whole thing out."

Itachi poked his head and gave him one last hug before thanking Tamaki and Nekobaa for their hospitality. Sasuke turned to Tenten, who always caught him off-guard whenever she wore her hair down.

"So beautiful, how are we hunting this shark?"

"Well sharks are drawn to blood right? So what's the bet that if he gets a whiff of Uchiha blood, he'll come running?"

"I think you're more liable to kill him if he gets off a whiff of you. You smell like shit Sasuke." Sasuke huffed, he didn't complain about her smell when they made their way back. He grumbled to himself as he made his way to the shower, causing a smile to form on Tenten's face.


	14. Chapter 14

To say Itachi Uchiha created a huge maelstrom of surprise and joy in Anbu, when he returned, would be an understatement. Short of rolling out the red carpet and bowing to him practically everyone in Anbu was shocked and elated to see him return. After a few hours of jumping through hoops, like proving to Ibiki that he hadn't gone rogue, he was deemed ready to return. The athmosphere in the building was a little lighter and happier just by his presence alone. It looked like Naruto was being kicked back down to the number two spot again, but he was fine with that.

It took some of the pressure off him and now it looked like they would get some answers. Itachi was in Kakashi's office, giving a full report about all that happened and where he had been. Naruto was peering over at them from across the way, he could see Kakashi's eye narrow and widen frequently, which probably meant that Itachi had one hell of a story to tell. Sakura came over and buried her head on his shoulder.

"You smell like blood," he sniffed, "and cherries. That's... an odd mix." She groaned into his ear.

"I just got out of surgery, more Zetsu attacks. We seriously need to hire more medics now that Tsunade is gone. Oh and I tried out a new shampoo, cherry-scented, what do you think?"

"Eh, it's not bad actually but you know me Sakura, you could wear a skunk for a scarf and I'd still think you smell great."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm your idiot."

The Zetsu attacks weren't a good sign though. Aside from the fact that they were probably the most hilariously incompetent mercenary group that Naruto had ever seen, he felt bad for whoever hired them, they were larger than originally expected. For every member of Anbu they had, they were outnumbered three-to-one. Luckily their attacks were nowhere near on the scale of the Bijuu Dama. Speaking of which...

"When did you learn to disarm a Bijuu Dama." He asked her.

"I didn't." She confessed.

"But you-"

"I'm going to be honest here, we were under pressure and I just pulled out what looked to be the most important part." Stunned silence engulfed them.

"You could've killed us and nearly everyone else but didn't based on a hunch you had."

"Well when you say it like that it sounds bad, but yeah pretty much." Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, he had jumped from one moving truck to another, interrogated one of the soldiers who was killed by his own man and then Sakura nearly levelled half the city.

"Looks like Itachi is finally done in there. Speaking of which, that's why I came to you."

"Not for my charm, my wit, my devilishly handsome face?"

"Well those too but mainly for this." She handed him a syringe, similar to the one she used on him a while back. "I heard Itachi was exposed to some Rinnegan as well, so make sure he gets that."

"What are you doing later?" He asked her.

"Sleeping, eating ice-cream."

"Ice-cream?"

"It's my coping mechanism for stress."

"I thought I was your coping mechanism." He said, thoroughly offended.

"Oh Naruto you are, but there are some things not even you can do and ice-cream covers all of them."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to heal his wounded look and left him there. Was he now seriously competing with frozen milk and cream for Sakura's attention, what did it have that he didn't? It wouldn't talk back to her, probably tasted and smelled better than he did, provided her with energy while he would always drain her of patience and vitality. Was he that bad that ice-cream had more appealing factors than him? But let's see how ice-cream coped under intense heat, then he would be all that Sakura had.

He chuckled evilly to himself. "Something funny?" Itachi asked.

"Oh Itachi, uh no. I think I'm going a bit insane to be honest with you."

"I wouldn't hold it against you. Things have been pretty strange the past few weeks. I'm... sorry about what happened to your parents, they were good people."

"Yeah, they were."

"So what's going on with Anbu at the moment?"

"Wait, before we get into all of that, you need to take this. It's a cure Sakura and Tsunade came up with for the Rinnegan poison, I heard you got hit with some of it."

"That's okay, it's more or less out of my system now."

"Don't take any chances, we need you at full possible fitness so it's better to be safe than sorry." Naruto said, handing him the syringe. "Take it and go to the med bay, you'll be drowsy and sleep for a few hours but you'll feel much better afterwards. Then we'll talk... about eveything. I'm guessing you didn't tell Kakashi all that happened with you."

"Judging from your tone, you also didn't tell him about something, something you found?"

"I have a feeling that between us, we might be able to figure all of this shit out. Get some rest Itachi, you're gonna need it."

* * *

A low whistle caught Kisame's attention, who whistled at the giant man with sharp teeth and a laughably oversized sword? Apparently Sasuke Uchiha did. Kisame resisted the urge to rub his eyes in disbelief, he looked around, nobody was around not even Might Guy.

Was Sasuke either that stupid or that overconfident to fight him alone? Surely not, Kisame remembered... oh wait, Itachi was the humble one and Sasuke was the arrogant dick. A smile crept across Kisame's features, this was going to be fun.

"Listen I understand you spend a lot of time brushing and taking care of them but if I wanted to see a real set of shark teeth, I would've gone to an aquarium."

Kisame sighed. Alright maybe not as fun as he thought, especially if Sasuke was going to keep making stupid-

"Oh now I've made you sad. Don't worry Kisame by the end of the day I promise you, you'll be sleeping with the fishes."

"Were you always this annoying or did you have to work at it?" Kisame asked, as he unsheathed Samehada.

"I don't know, is your sword compensating for something?" Sasuke said with a smirk and took out Kusanagi.

Kisame roared and took a huge swing with his sword, Sasuke stupidly tried to block it and nearly lost an arm for his efforts. The weight alone of Samehada was enough for Sasuke's knees to buckle, combine that with a powerful swing and Sasuke's sword would have been chopped in half, along with Sasuke. Sasuke had to hand it to Orochimaru, he may have been a creep with a fetish for snakes and Uchiha, but he knew how to build a sturdy sword.

Sasuke ended up on the ground from Kisame's first strike and rolled to the side to avoid the killing blow. Sasuke kicked his shin as hard as he could but couldn't get the giant to stumble. Sasuke's natural agility and speed managed to create some space between them and he took a second to reevaluate his opponent.

"If only your fighting skill was as good as your jokes, though come to think of it maybe it is."

"Yeah I'm starting to think I'm not so good at this joke-telling business either. I think I'll stick to what I'm good at, like killing Akatsuki members."

Kisame grinned, this kid's cockiness knew no bounds. He nearly got killed by one strike and had the audacity to make light of the situation. A low pop behind Kisame had him look down in surprise, he was bleeding. Two more pops, he was bleeding heavily. He looked over at Sasuke, who also had a look of disbelief on his face. Another pop forced Kisame to his knees.

"Sorry but this was simply taking too long and the tension between you two was becoming unbearable." Tenten called out, as she emerged from the shadows holding a silenced assault rifle. Shot in the back, that would be how he'd go out.

"Couldn't beat me fair and square so you shoot me in the back. Coward."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Now keep smiling you son of a bitch." She said as she coldly finished him with a headshot. Sasuke could only watch on in shock as Tenten singlehandedly finished off the Akatsuki.

Coming back to reality, he told her. "I had it under control you know."

"No you didn't. You ended up flat on your ass and made stupid jokes."

"I was luring him into a false sense of security." He said weakly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And then what were you going to do? Insult him for what he was wearing, threaten to harpoon him, crush him with that huge ego you've got, bravado him to death?"

He laughed, partly because of her comments but mostly because it was done, they were free. "You know what it doesn't matter anymore. It's over, we did it. We're free to move on."

" _We're_ free, that's a hell of an assumption to make Sasuke. In case you forgot, I have an incredibly successful business to return to and manage."

Sasuke could see the future he had envisioned with her crumble in front of him. This was the moment where he would have to swallow all of his pride and lay his cards on the table.

"You could go back to that business of yours, selling weapons to scumbags and such. You could sit behind that desk all day, alone in your store of weapons until you eventually lose your mind and start talking to them, if that hasn't happened already." An embarrassed blush from Tenten confirmed his suspicion.

"Or you could come with me. Have you ever stepped foot outside Konoha before? There's a whole world out there to explore and see and I could think of no one else I'd rather see it with."

"Sasuke-" She began.

"I'll keep training you as we travel. You too could one day become as good as me at making jokes and wisecracks."

"In all the time I've known you Sasuke, I've never seen you smile or banter as much as you did in the past ten minutes. What is going on with you?"

"I'm happy Tenten." He said earnestly. "I really am, the time we spent together over the past few weeks changed me for the better. One can only remain stoic and detatched for so long and our time together... opened me up, so to speak. I've learned a lot about you, your likes and dislikes, that you talk to your weapons apparently. But there's a lot more I'd like to know, if you'd let me."

She thought about it. She honestly couldn't see the Sasuke that came into her store asking for a Chidori and promptly shutting down all attempts she made at conversation, saying everything that the Sasuke in front of her just said. Could she really leave everything behind? Well when she said everything it sounded like she had a lot of things holding her here. In reality, her apartment was swarming with Anbu, Lee got out of hospital and resigned in a very polite and calm manner. She did feel bad about everything that had happened with him and made sure to pay all of his hospital bills and give him a very large severance package. Guy was getting older and planning to retire soon and as sad as it was, now that the Akatsuki were gone, so was her biggest customer.

In her careful considerations about everything, she hadn't noticed that Sasuke had closed the distance between them. He took her face in his hands which were surprisingly soft.

"You're thinking too much Tenten." Of course she was thinking too much, this was a major life decision. It required a lot of contemplation and, wait what was he doing?

Sasuke lowered his head and kissed her, so gentle that she wondered if he had kissed her at all. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him towards her, he was surprised by this but it fuelled his excitement. She opened her mouth for him and he let his tongue sneak in slowly, soon their passion threatened to overwhelm them and if not for Kisame's corpse snapping him back to his senses, Sasuke was sure he would have taken her right then and there.

"Come on, we deserve better than this." He said taking her hand in his, it seemed to fit perfectly with hers.

"Where are we going?" She asked him, voice uneven.

"I made reservations, I knew we'd feel like celebrating." His voice was gleeful as he pulled her along and it was hard not to join in with his merriment.

* * *

"The files on Danzo's computer told me about when the Bijuu Dama would arrive, so I left an anonymous tip with Kakashi. Your team did a good job at stopping that I hear, and finally I recovered enough to return to Anbu." Itachi finished telling his story.

"So you did eliminate Danzo?" Naruto asked. Itachi's face was neutral but inside he was struggling with what to tell Naruto. He wanted to protect Sasuke and Tenten but at the same time he needed to tell Naruto enough to convince him.

"No, but I may have let slip info that would turn some people on Danzo."

"Who?" Naruto asked firmly.

"Listen Naruto, I've told you more than I told Kakashi. He thinks I found the intel inside the Akatsuki base along with the bit about Danzo being on their side. The 'who' involved is not important, they got the job done and if I perceived them to be a threat, you know I would've stopped them."

"How do we know your telling the truth about Danzo?" Naruto asked.

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

"Humour me, you want to hear what I've got to say, then I need to be sure about everything you're telling me."

"Hm, well Kakashi said he'd send a team to their base and see if anything's left. I doubt there will be, they're smart enough not to leave a trail behind."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Last question, what happened to Sasuke?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I haven't seen him since I left the Akatsuki. If he's smart he's probably left Konoha after hearing about Pain's attack, knowing that you'd eventually hunt him down."

"We found his shirt in an apartment next to Deidara's body, which was blown to pieces, safe to say I'm not the only one hunting him. Maybe someone else will get the honor of taking him down." Itachi was saddened by Naruto's words, it seemed like only yesterday when his brother was in steady competition with the blonde, trying to outdo the Hokage's son.

"I have told you everything, more than I gave Kakashi, it's your turn Naruto."

"You're up to speed with Nagato, Yahiko and Konan?" Itachi nodded. "Nagato told my Dad about Amegakure, but before he died, he maintained that he had nothing to do with it. Nagato killed him before he had a chance to explain himself, so I decided to look into it more. When I checked the file, there were pages missing, now maybe this T person tried to cover their tracks by tampering with the file. So maybe if we cross reference all the people with the letter 't' at the start of their name and who were in the file room during-"

Itachi held up his hand to stop Naruto from continuing. "I have a better idea. Where is Konan being held?"

"Oh, uh right here in our holding cells. She's the only Akatsuki member we've managed to catch alive. Why you've got something?"

"Just a few theories, I'd like to run them by her first. She'll talk to me, and if nothing come ups, we'll do your idea instead. I don't think I have to tell you this but keep all we've just discussed to yourself, we don't know who to trust around here."

Naruto nodded. "Good luck Itachi."

Itachi didn't want luck, in fact he wanted to be completely wrong about the theory that was beginning to manifest and grow within his mind. He barely remembered the early days of Minato as Hokage but when the topic of Amegakure came up, he distinctly remembered the Hokage handing it off to someone else. Time to see if Konan could shed some light on the situation and judging by how their last meeting went, with her in tears and him nearly dying from poison, it was going to be one uncomfortable meeting.

* * *

The gray walls of her cell were beginning to drive her insane. She had asked for more paper but was denied, the one sheet she did have was used over and over again. Her origami only distracted her for so long before she was reminded of what her life had been reduced to. Waiting for her punishment was beginning to wear on her nerves, she knew that her only options were life and cooperate or death and stay silent. She had absolutely nothing to gain by cooperating and there wasn't a person alive who could convince her otherwise.

Konan raised her head as the door opened, was it time for her revolting meal that the guards had surely spat in already? No, in strolled the spectre of a person who should be long dead. They held an uncomfortable stare as Itachi sat down opposite her and told the guard to leave. She had to say for a supposed corpse, he looked as delectable as the day he first joined the Akatsuki.

"I knew I would lose my mind sitting in this cell for so long."

"How so?" Itachi asked with an amused grin.

"I'm seeing spirits of people who should be dead, next I suspect Nagato will join me and tell me how we suceeded in our mission. Oh well, it shall keep me entertained I suppose."

"If that does happen please do tell us, because I'm afraid I'm as real as that flower you just made Konan." He pointed to her origami and she cocked her head. "Alright poor example."

"That's a shame, there are some people I would've liked to see again before I go."

Itachi ignored the implication there. "Are they treating you well?

Konan laughed at this. "Itachi Uchiha, always the gentleman. Aside from the death threats, terrible food containing saliva or urine and the monotony of rearranging the one thing I own on this planet, then yes they are treating me well."

"You kill a bad king, the people will throw a feast in your name and crown you a hero. You kill a good king, they will declare you an outcast, slander your name and take everything that made life worth living."

"I already lost those things, there's... nothing left to take. This paper flower is all I've got."

"You've still got your good looks." Itachi said, trying to make light of her impossibly grim situation. In actuality, she was a shadow of her former self. Her skin was snow white, her cheeks were hollow and her hair had lost that shine it always seemed to have.

Sighing Konan decided not to drag this out. "Why are you here Itachi? Haven't you done enough already, I thought gloating was beneath you but go on and get it over with. Tell me how you won and I lost, how you sucessfully manipulated and expertly exploited my affections for you and how seeing me like this brings you great joy."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "I never... I never intended to... Look I came to help you. I believe that your rage at Minato was wrongly placed, does the name T mean anything to you?" He could tell by her reaction that it did. The Akatsuki members said Konan was unreadable but after spending time with her, he began to pick up on some things. Subtle facial expressions and changes in her posture said more than words could.

"No, I never-"

"I believe this person made contact with you, I believe they then leaked information on the Akatsuki to Hanzo and then gave you a target: The Fourth Hokage, to further their own agenda. The problem is a lot changed after Minato's death and I have no clue where to start looking, if you help me I will do everything in my power to help you."

"Why the hell would I help you of all people?"

Itachi stood. "Because I am literally the only person alive who cares about what happens to you. Nagato gave everyone in the Akatsuki cyanide, except you. Do you really think Yahiko wanted you to spend your life rotting in a cell? No, he wanted you to live, and make Amegakure a better place."

Konan rose and swiftly slapped him across the face, amber eyes full of rage. "Don't even speak his name! You couldn't compare to him, never could. You were a bed-warmer, a pretty face with a nice behind to keep me company and sated in a group of psychopaths and murderers. The thing is though I respect them more than you because at least they weren't living a lie."

Itachi smiled sadly. "If all of this chaos and death was in Yahiko's name, then no, I never could compare."

Konan sneered. "You want to talk death, let's talk about you killing your best friend. You thought you could read me so well because we were intimate but that's a two-way street Itachi, don't think I didn't see the silent tears that begged to be shed. So tell me, looking back at how things turned out, was it worth it?"

His features took on a menacing and dark look, the room seemed to go cold and she wondered if she had finally pushed away the last person alive she held any form of affection for.

"No, it wasn't worth it. We both lost people we care about and I am sorry about Yahiko and Nagato, truly I am. But if you want to make sure that any of what the Akatsuki set out to do succeeded, then please, help me."

She had never once heard Itachi Uchiha beg, thought he was too independant to ask for help. Was it possible that they were being led along this whole time? It didn't really matter, she had nothing to lose at this point and wanted to see how this all turned out.

"The man with the mask, he came and told us that the Hokage was behind it all, that we'd need new members to expand and get vengeance. Tobi, his name was Tobi."

Itachi stopped and looked at her for a moment before stroking her cheek. "I never intended to manipulate or hurt you. As time went on and I got deeper into the Akatsuki, unwanted feelings began to spring up until they surfaced. I am sorry I hurt you, it wasn't supposed to end like that, I'm not really sure how these things usually should. I'll do what I can to help you and if this helps us catch the man responsible for Yahiko's death, you'll be the first to know. Until then, just... stay safe."

He gave her a nod and looked like he was considering more but with a sad smile decided against it. And for the second time Itachi Uchiha walked away from her, leaving Konan in tears.


	15. Chapter 15

Obito Uchiha sat alone in the sitting room of his house. He was intently staring at the phone in the corner and from his perspective it seemed to be mocking him. He took another swig of his beer, his third. He hadn't drank alcohol in a long time, he needed to stay in control and couldn't risk anything that could cloud his judgements or actions. He was beginning to feel the effects of the beer already but that was probably for the best, a bit of false courage was exactly what he needed. It was strange, considering all he had done and what terrified him most was the phone call he was about to make.

Things hadn't worked exactly as planned but they certainly weren't as bad as they could have been. It had all started early in Minato's career as Hokage, he had taken him under his wing and for his first assignment, Minato had given him Amegakure. Obito saw the potential in the early Akatsuki and tried to extend an alliance but was simply rejected by Yahiko. That was fine, if Yahiko didn't want to talk to him then Hanzo would make him talk, or scream. Whichever he would do would be sufficient for Obito, surprisingly enough Yahiko died and well, Nagato and Konan didn't take that well at all.

Looking back, maybe he shouldn't have worn the mask when meeting with the Akatsuki, then Yahiko might have accepted his offer. It was his first time posing as Tobi and he had loved every second of it. As Obito everyone knew as the slightly clumsy but good-hearted boy, Tobi wasn't a good boy at all. Tobi manipulated, Tobi killed, directly and indirectly as he saw fit. The first mask was crude but held a special place in his heart. It was like a tiger's camoflage in the jungle, the orange and black protected his identity and gave him free reign to be an entirely different person. He returned to the Akatsuki and was now greeted with open arms, Hanzo had served his purpose and the Akatsuki were none the wiser.

Nagato took on his own secret identity as Pain and with that, got to work tearing Hanzo's world apart, anyone associated with him was thrown into the melting pot and taken out. It gave Obito his first taste of the excitement that came with all of this. Knowing that he caused it all and that he had that type of influence over people was an addictive feeling. So within the chaos and death, Obito made a decision that would seal his fate. For as long as he could remember he wanted to be Hokage, wanted the respect and admiration of the people. The only problem was that his mentor was in that position.

If it was anyone else, he would've done it immediately. Fuck all that good and evil nonsense, spending time in Amegakure and with the Akatsuki taught him a few things about his own morals and values. Any other Hokage would be an obstacle to be overcome or crushed but Minato... Obito mulled it over in his head over and over again, weighing the pros and cons. His own voice told him not to do it, not to cross that line. But somewhere along the way, another voice made itself known and then materialised in the form of a monster.

Obito stared at the phone, a monster who he hadn't talked to in a long time and would now have to beg to help him. Obito didn't like being in a position of weakness and it didn't get much weaker than having his plans crumble around him and his alias' name on Itachi Uchiha's mind.

The monster spoke harsh truths to him and twisted his mind so much, that Obito began plotting his way to the Hokage's office. He gave Nagato some fake evidence, forged some letters between Minato and Hanzo and got the wheels to start turning. The Akatsuki were going to need more than three members, so while Nagato and Konan started recruiting, Obito started working extra hard for Minato. Everything was going smoothly until word of their little group made it to the Hokage's ears and he sent _him_ in.

Itachi-fucking-Uchiha, he managed to somehow screw everything up but at least Obito could keep an eye on his progress. He decided to keep this information from Nagato and Konan, he wanted to keep them blissfully unaware. Didn't that come back to bite him in the ass? A blessing came in the form of another Uchiha, Sasuke had made his way over to the Akatsuki to follow his brother. Not only would he distract Itachi but he proved to be an effective asset as well.

Hinata Hyuuga. Obito hoped to start a war between Uchiha and Hyuuga, two of the most powerful families in the city. The fallout from this would be devastating for Konoha and would surely put pressure on Minato. However, thanks to Naruto, the Hyuugas did not seek vengeance and left justice in the hands of Anbu.

Killer B. Now this would've surely ended Minato's career... as well as almost certainly start a war between Konoha and Kumogakure. The Raikage was a stubborn bastard and if his brother was assassinated during a peace Summit in Konoha, there was no telling what he'd do. Unfortunately, Itachi made his move at this time which meant Sasuke's team would have to be put down before pursuing Itachi.

In the meantime, Obito planned to thin out Minato's security. If he had actually killed Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza it would surely put the whole of Konoha on edge and Minato on lockdown, but go after their children and you take them out of the equation without causing a huge panic.

For this one he brought Danzo on board. Obito liked him, he had his own ambitions and had an army to back him up. But all it took was one bad apple to spoil the bunch and this came in the form of Sai. Obito wanted to laugh and cry when he found out that Sai was dating one of their targets. As soon as he heard this, he had to consider Danzo dead already.

Rather amazingly, Sasuke survived execution and escaped. There really was only one place he could go, if he went back to Anbu they were more likely to execute him than the Akatsuki. So he went to his little weapon dealer friend and recuperated, this gave Obito time to find out where Tenten lived.

He told Nagato to send someone to go to her business and check it out, what he got back was a broken and beaten Kisame. Later that day, Minato called him in. Of course Kakashi would replace Minato's security team, Obito almost tutted and rolled his eyes at the sight of them talking like a couple of school girls. He found out Kakashi was moving up in the world, while he was being tossed aside. After that meeting he didn't really care what happened to any of them. It was time to let Nagato off the leash and give him his long awaited vengeance.

Before he left, he managed to fool Kushina into letting him into the file room. He knew the positions of the cameras and glided through the room, he took all mention of himself out of the Amegakure file and after thorough searching, found an address for Tenten. He passed it on to Nagato and got a dead Deidara in return.

Obito was beginning to realise that the Akatsuki were outliving their usefulness and were being taken down one after the other. Thankfully Nagato finally got him some results and killed the Hokage and his wife. A little overkill if you asked him, but hey the results spoke for themselves.

His joy was about to be swiftly cut short because at this moment Sasuke, and he assumed Sai, decided to rear their ugly heads. He couldn't really be mad at them, he would've done the same in their position. No, who he was really angry with was Danzo. At least Nagato had the decency to delete all traces of him off his computer, Danzo just left them sitting there. Either out of confidence that he was safe in his home or he intended to use them against him, whatever the case Sasuke, and now Itachi learned more than he would've liked.

The Bijuu Dama was actually Konoha's. It was supposedly disarmed but Obito managed to 'acquire' it. With the Akatsuki finished Obito was forced to resort to using mercenaries, paid for by Uchiha funds. Fugaku wasn't going to be happy when he learned that the Uchiha bank account was a lot smaller than it should be. The Bijuu Dama was supposed to be leverage over Tsunade, but Team 7 to the rescue, once again meant that his plans were thwarted.

Finally Konan had spilled her guts to Itachi after he batted those eyelashes at her and spoke sweet nothings to her, well maybe he did mean them and Obito could use this to his advantage. Because now it was time for him to literally spill her guts and possibly wring her neck as well. For that though he would need help, real help.

Obito's attention was brought back to the phone. Letting a monster like that loose in Konoha could be dangerous, a monster like that couldn't be controlled and answered to no one. Taking one last mouthful of his beer, Obito set the bottle down and walked over to the phone.

A monster was about to come to Konoha that would make the Akatsuki seem like a youth club for troubled teens. The second the monster arrived, Obito was no longer in charge... he picked up the phone and dialled.

* * *

Thankfully Sasuke had returned to his normal state, happy Sasuke was fine in moderation but there was something about a genuine smile on a face that was made for smirking that unnerved Tenten. He had taken her to a hotel which contained the Konoha Hot Springs, she had always wanted to go but work had prevented her. There was just something so relaxed about the place that she would never have associated Sasuke with, he always seemed like the rough-living, always-moving and the no-problem-with-killing type. She could ask him about that later, what she really had to ask was...

"Uh Sasuke, no offence but how can you afford this? You didn't use my money did you, because if you did I swear-" She asked, as they walked to their room. They had gotten a few odd looks about their appearance and lack of luggage. Luckily most people couldn't differentiate between a gun case and a regular one.

"No!" He said indignantly, "I don't need your money, this is a little present from my family. Seeing as how I'm not exactly welcome at home anymore, I took the liberty of taking my inheritance a little early. My Akatsuki blood money is probably long gone and the Uchiha bank account is so easy to hack in to, still it was a little smaller than what I was expecting..."

Tenten was silent before asking. "Do you miss your family?"

Sasuke kept walking until they finally reached their room. "A bit, mainly my mother. My father showed... favouritism towards Itachi and was strict, but he was a good man. Itachi will be able to return to them after he gets everything cleared up, probably already has. He'll look after them, something I can't do."

"What if you just explain everything, Itachi will back you up. You made up for your crimes Sasuke, surely you've earned a right to go home."

He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure Anbu have a shoot-on-sight order on me and as for my family... the Uchiha family is a strange thing Tenten. I've heard some rumours about us from other people and aside from the one about inbreeding most of them are true, and I'm not even that sure about the inbreeding. One thing I've learned about my family is that they don't forgive easily."

That was all he said on the subject as he set his one bag containing his weapons down. He remembered he had once asked her about her family during his stay at her apartment. He was trying to stir up some conversation but she quickly shut him down. He concluded that she either had no family, or none worth mentioning.

"Enough of that, let's do something fun."

She snorted at this. "Alright, and what exactly does Sasuke Uchiha do for fun?"

He drew a blank. "Uh, train mostly."

"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. Those training sessions we went through before going to Danzo's place still haunt me. We've got to get you a hobby, beautiful."

"Oh wait, there is one thing in particular that I always found fun. It requires two people and is enjoyable for both parties, well it is when I'm involved." The smirk was back on his face, he knew what he wanted, she had to give him that.

"C'mon Sasuke, we're at the Hot Springs. Let's go for a swim."

"Good idea, that'll build up my appetite. I plan to eat out later on." Tenten couldn't stop the groan and facepalm even if she tried. Comedy was a certainly a hobby he could do with improving on.

* * *

"Alright, final bodycount?" Naruto asked.

"I'm on three with Sasori, Animal and Konan." Sakura responded.

"I'm also on three with Kakuzu, Preta and Pain or Nagato."

"Kakashi's on two with Human and Naraka."

"My Dad's on one with Asura. Not a bad result for him, given his age."

"That leaves..."

Naruto sighed. "Sasuke took out Deidara and I'm also willing to bet he's responsible for this." They found Kisame's body that was riddled with bullets. Judging from the exit wounds he was shot multiple times from behind, before being executed up close. It was a typical cowardly thing that Naruto wouldn't put past Sasuke.

"So, now it really is over. The Akatsuki are finally finished once and for all."

"Aw come on Sakura, you know this shit never ends. Tomorrow it will be some other asshole, who does the bad guy mastermind routine and has an evil plan, whose ass we have to kick."

Sakura's shoulders slumped. "Wow Naruto, you certainly know how to depress a girl. I feel like you've just aged me several years with that speech alone, seriously I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm going to be stuck with you forever."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." He said, wrapping his arms around her stomach.

"Being stuck with you for a day feels like a lifetime."

"A lifetime filled with joy and happy memories?"

"A lifetime filled with adrenaline, crazy people and lots of ramen and ice-cream."

"Fine, I'll make it up to you. Dinner tonight." He said.

"At your place or mine." She said warily.

"What no. Proper dinner Sakura, no ramen, I promise."

"Proper dinner? Like at a restaurant, with people who are normal."

"We're normal."

"Naruto, if we were to tell actual normal people some of the things we've done, I'm pretty sure they'd pass out from over-stimulation."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Naruto are you asking me on a date?"

"I am. Sakura Haruno, I am asking you in this crime scene, next to the corpse of a man who was brutally murdered, to go to dinner with me." The romantic athmosphere almost threatened to make her swoon. There was just something about the smell of a body beginning to decompose, in a filthy backwards alley, surrounded by their coworkers, on a cold and gray morning, that made Sakura realise Naruto didn't know the first fucking thing about romance.

"Yeah okay."

"Huh, that was easy. So meet you at around eight?"

"Sounds good." The conversation ended abruptly and undramatically. He didn't know exactly what he was expecting, they had been comfortable with each other for so long that getting dinner together wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He was glad of that though, he wanted their relationship to be relaxed and familiar.

"Wanna get lunch?" Naruto asked.

"Absolutely, let's get out of here."

* * *

Tenten let the warm water sooth her aching muscles. They had lazed around the pool for an hour before they got bored and went to the hot springs, it was rather quiet and Tenten was the only one in the ladies side. She had just begun to relax before she heard someone else sit down in the water.

"Sasuke, what are you doing!?" She squeaked out and covered her breasts.

He chuckled at her modesty, it only made him want her more. "Well I saw that you were alone and thought I'd give you some company."

"Were you perving on me?" She asked, outraged.

"Hn, think of it more as admiring." He said, nuzzling her neck. God, what was wrong with him. It was like he had turned into a cat, rubbing against her and craving attention.

"Down boy." She said, pushing him away.

"Did you just refer to me as a dog? Actually you're not too far off with that, if you turn around I can make a pair of dogs out of us both."

She blushed. "How can you joke about this?"

His expression changed. It came with experience, he supposed. Still, he didn't want her to think that this was any less important to him, than it was to her.

He stood to full height. "Alright then, no more jokes." He said softly. Tenten was completely flustered and couldn't help but blatantly stare. Forget cat and dog, Sasuke was more like a horse.

That damn smirk crept across his face again. Oh, he liked this. Normally, Sasuke and Tenten would have equal confidence and even during combat they were even, Sasuke was impressed at how she managed to keep her composure. But here, he had all the self-assurance in the world and she could hardly think straight. Her shyness only fuelled his predatory instincts as he approached and planted a gentle kiss to test the waters, so to speak.

After a few timid kisses, she responded more fervently, determined to get her dominance back. His hands roamed her body, groping her soft flesh. He had wanted to fuck her the day he walked into her shop, he'd be the first to admit it. That was just how we was, he saw an attractive woman, he didn't play around. Normally after they got a look at his pretty face they reciprocated his desires and that was that. He was always courteous, always a generous lover, so he'd been told, and normally enjoyed the cuddling afterwards. This was generally more surprising to the women than anything else, but he didn't know them and was confident that his secret was safe.

But with Tenten... he never met a woman he wanted to have sex with for so long, but didn't purely out of respect for her and their friendship. The more time he spent however, the more he was becoming attracted to her for more reasons than her body. Emotions and bonds had grown strong between them and he was committed to not only preserving them but enriching and adding to them.

He lifted her slightly out of the pool and letting her sit on the edge. His hands gently trailed the length of her body, as if she was a delicate masterpiece and too much force would cause her to shatter. His black eyes appeared to be that bit darker or maybe it was because there was something else in them, something animalistic. Soon his lips replaced where his hands had been and her breasts were swelling. He squeezed, kneaded and suckled, all the while Tenten's moans were getting louder.

He moved on to greater pursuits and placed a kiss on her navel, before moving even further down. He parted her thighs, revealing what he wanted. She was completely open, powerless and filled with pleasure as he descended on her. Her hands found their way into his hair, holding him there, he didn't want to be anywhere else. He took his time, discovering every inch of her bit by bit.

He found his way to her clit and gave it a few featherlight flicks that had Tenten gasping and grinded her nails into his scalp. Keeping control, Sasuke gently sucked on the soft flesh. Her sounds of satisfaction almost had him break his restraint, turn her around and do her doggystyle like he suggested earlier.

Feeling her hands now squeeze a strand of his hair, Sasuke knew she was close. He was about to finish her, when a scream broke them both out of their dreamlike states. A woman had entered the hot springs and ran out just as fast when she what was happening. Tenten was close to tears at the feeling of being incomplete but Sasuke gave her hand a squeeze.

"Don't worry, I pay my debts and trust me, you'll enjoy this a lot more than my cooking."


	16. Chapter 16

Obito walked through the rows of empty cells, his attention was squarely focused on the last one. He was wearing his most durable mask which was white with spirals running across it. The guards were currently being dealt with and their remaining moments of life were likely going to be spent in agony. In her cell, Konan gave him the coldest look she could muster. He found this amusing because it showed him that she had absolutely no ability or energy left to defend herself with, and had resorted to petty looks, he couldn't wait until the name-calling started.

She backed up as he opened the creaking cell, the sliding door creating a loud, groaning noise in an otherwise silent room. He entered slowly checking around one last time to make sure he was clear.

"Oh Konan, I had such high hopes for you. You did exactly as I asked and eliminated the Hokage but you just couldn't keep your mouth shut. The Akatsuki does not abide traitors understood? One question, why would such a loyal member like you betray me, you wanted your revenge for Yahiko and you got it."

Konan's thoughts drifted to Itachi and how genuine he seemed when he told her. "You lied to us, you told Hanzo about us. You were responsible for Yahiko's death!"

Obito chuckled. "Is that what he told you? Since you are about to die I shall enlighten you. Yes, I told Hanzo all about your organisation, he was very interested to hear what I had to say. I can tell you that Yahiko did not die quickly, there was a lot of screaming involved and I believe your name came up a bit." Konan's lower lip began to tremble. "But nevermind, you've clearly long since forgotten him. In my opinion, you're just a lovesick, ignorant little girl and this fantasy that you've created of Itachi and yourself is going to come crashing down around you."

He grabbed her by her throat and slammed her into the wall. A choking sound was heard as her world began to turn black. Before she lost consciousness she had to get something off her chest.

"Do you want to know why I betrayed you?" Her voice was strained.

"Not really, in fact I'd much rather if you kept quiet during this."

"I saw a difference in your eyes. Both Uchiha but, one light, and one dark. When Itachi came to me I saw the sincerity in him, the desire for truth and justice at any cost even the lives of himself or those closest to him, with the exception of his brother. He changed his persona to fit any situation and hide it altogether if needs be, but I felt like I saw the real him for the first time a few days ago. Then I recalled you, and how your eyes seemed shrouded in darkness at all times, and then I knew Itachi had to be telling the truth."

"And what do my eyes tell you now?"

"They're full of rage, hatred and murderous intent. Then again, so are his."

Obito couldn't react quick enough before a knife was implanted in his upper arm. A firm kick to his shin had him clutching it and then a palm strike sent him back. He slowly pulled out the knife, growling in pain. In front of him, stood the immaculate Itachi Uchiha. Konan leaned against him for support and gave a haggard cough in an attempt to get her breath back.

"Itachi."

"Obito."

"You used her as bait to draw me out, my word you are clever. Not as clever as you think you are, but still impressive."

"It's over Obito, if you surrender now-"

"Hahaha don't give me that bullshit now Itachi, I think it's far too late for me to give up."

"Very well, you leave me little choice."

"Oh Itachi please, I think we both know if we were to go toe-to-toe, you'd wipe the floor with me. I planned ahead just in case you decided to show up like the knight in shining armour that she thinks you are. And trust me, if you thought the Uchiha family reunion was going to be awkward this year already, it's about to get worse."

A freight train of a kick had Itachi hit the wall behind him, hard. One punch broke Konan's nose, the second dislocated her jaw and sent a few teeth flying like a champagne cork. Itachi's breath sneaked out of his body and left him desperately trying to clutch whatever oxygen he could get. His arms and legs shook as they tried to prevent him from falling down completely. Life poured out of him in a horrible mixture of blood and bile, his brain was trying to pool his thoughts together and get a coherent response going, but was failing miserably.

Itachi had taken some bad hits in his time but this was on another level. When his head stopped whirling, he managed to look up and couldn't believe his eyes.

"Itachi, I suppose you don't remember me, but I remember you. I was there the day of your birth, we had high hopes for you kid and I've heard you more than delivered. Of course, I wasn't around to see your accomplishments, they had... exiled me by then." A deep booming voice said.

Madara Uchiha, no it couldn't be, not in Konoha. The Uchiha family declared him an unstable and psychopathic outcast and ostracised him, no one knew where he went and were glad not to speak of him any more.

"I've heard Minato had been killed by this woman and her organisation. In retrospect, he wasn't much of an opponent and I beat him pretty convincingly in the past. However, the honor of killing him, was reserved for me." Madara took the knife from Obito and drove it into Konan's back. Her cry of agony, wrenched at Itachi's soul. How could a man of forty still hit that hard? Itachi desperately tried to rise.

"Itachi, I get the feeling your not listening to me, so maybe you'll hear this." Madara twisted the knife, tears began to form in Konan's eyes and her shrieks echoed throughout the cells. 'Get up Itachi!' His brain was now screaming at him, but his limbs were numb. He must've shattered a rib or two as well, judging from the unbearable fire he felt there.

"You know if you're not going to stop this Itachi, allow me to tell you a story. Recently I've been trying this new cereal, it's pretty good, but my favourite part of it is the sounds it makes. So, I've been really trying to recreate these sounds. I can always get the first one, but the other two are just too difficult, let me show you."

Madara snapped Konan's neck, Itachi watched as her body appeared to hit the ground in slow motion. Those amber eyes, which most considered to be invasive and inhospitable, were now truly lifeless. Yet another person he cared about, gone in the blink of an eye. He crawled over to her and pulled the knife out of her back.

"I hope you don't think that that's going to make a difference Itachi." Madara stated, amused. Itachi wanted to lay there for a while, just cradling her. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of that, he groaned and clutched his stomach as he rose, yeah definitely ribs.

"Ooh, I see why she liked you. You turned into quite the pretty boy as you grew, didn't you Itachi?" Madara said, licking his lips. Itachi had absolutely no plan, which was a bizarre and unsettling feeling for him. He could beat Obito, maybe, but beating Madara was a distant dream, why didn't he bring any weapons. They were standing between him and the door, plus there was no window, so escape wasn't an option.

He threw a punch at Obito, which Madara caught and respnded with one of his own, right back into Itachi's stomach. He passed him over to Obito, who elbowed the back of Itachi's skull and sent him back to Madara. Madara kneed his stomach yet again, causing Itachi to fall completely.

Madara propped him up. "Wait I think I might have an idea how to make another sound." He placed one arm on Itachi's shoulder and with the other began twisting his arm until it popped out of its socket. Obito winced at the sound while Itachi screamed and howled in pain. While he consoled his shoulder, Madara walked over to the cell door and managed to rip one of the iron bars off.

"So, we have snap and pop. Let's see if we can't get you to crackle." Itachi's body began to shake but that wasn't what he felt. Well actually he felt complete white-hot pain, but what he meant was that he could die satisfied. He had done everything he could to protect Konoha and his brother, and was ready to go, his stomach really was becoming unbearable.

A smile donned his face as he looked up at the towering Madara. 'Sasuke, I leave it in your hands. Live well my brother.' He thought.

"That's it, go out with a smile on your face." Madara said softly, before ramming the bar into Itachi's throat. A horrible gurgling sound emerged as blood sprayed freely from Itachi's throat and pooled beside him.

"So Obito, that's one of your messes dealt with. Let's see what else I have to fix."

* * *

"You should wear your hear down more often." Sasuke said dreamily.

"Mm." Tenten replied. Her head was resting on his chest and she was far too tired to give a more detailed response.

"Tenten?"

"Mm?"

"I really gotta pee."

"If you move at all and interrupt my current relaxation, I will cut your dick off Sasuke. I am in a far too comfortable position to let you ruin it."

"You see, here's how I know you won't do that. Judging from how you were an hour ago, I'm pretty sure my dick is more important to you than breathing." If it had been yesterday, she would've called him arrogant. But as it stands, he wasn't entirely wrong.

He certainly kept his promise about paying his debts, along with interest she'd say. She was surprised that someone who fought with such ferocity, was capable of such gentleness. At the same time, she'd say there were some similarites between how he fought and how he made love. He was confident, skilled and used lots of stamina.

She reluctantly moved and let him walk to the toilet, as she settled into the pillow which contained his scent. She was slightly worried at the feelings brewing in the pit of her stomach, was it normal to fall for someone this fast. She could contemplate those thoughts later, now she was more concerned with their plan for getting out of the city. Sasuke came back and climbed into bed next to her.

"Sasuke."

"Hn?" He began tracing light circles on the small of her back, his touch was making it hard to concentrate.

"How are we getting out of the city?"

He looked up at her. "I have a friend whose getting us out of here. I just have to contact her and she'll come to whisk us away."

"So, when are you doing that?"

"Why, do you want to leave?" It was clear from his tone that he intended them to stay here and screw like a pair of randy rabbits for a few days. She had no problem with that, but...

"Eh, kind of. I dunno, you've gotten me excited with seeing the world and the more I think about it, the more I'm getting really fucking sick of Konoha."

He thought about her words for a moment. "Tomorrow." He blurted out.

"What?" She didn't want to feel like she put him on the spot.

"We'll leave tomorrow, you have things to take care of?" His voice was becoming more and more excited.

"I just have to get my money really, the weapons are in a safe place."

"Alright then, I'll call Mei and tell her to come to Konoha."

"Mei... Mei Terumi, the Mizukage?" Sasuke nodded, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Why is she helping you?"

"I did her a favour a while ago."

"Yeah I bet you did, you slut." Sasuke bit down on her finger, before lightly sucking it.

"Don't worry Tenten, the women will have to say goodbye to the gigolo, I'm yours now." He said sincerely.

"Who said I was worried." She huffed, but she was actually relieved to hear him say that. Her pride soared knowing that she managed to claim Sasuke Uchiha. "So we have a whole night ahead of us before tomorrow..."

Sasuke smirked and pulled her to him. She was learning.

* * *

Might Guy was in a great mood, he hadn't visited this bar in a long time. Tonight though, he had cause for celebration. He had rounded up his old friends Genma and Ebisu, who were also there when his father died, they couldn't believe the news when he told them.

Kisame Hoshigaki was dead, killed by Tenten herself. She had given him Samehada as proof and as a present, it was better than any bonus he had received in the past. He was looking forward to catching up with his friends and hearing all about their news. He set their drinks down and went back up to the bar to get his own. Akio, the owner wasn't serving tonight, instead a man with almost waist-length hair was behind the bar.

"You seem to be in a good mood." The man behind the bar noted, trying to start up some conversation.

"Yes my friend, it is a great day to be alive, don't you think?" Guy said jovially.

"Oh I do, it's the simple things in life that give the greatest pleasures." The man continued to ramble on as Guy became a bit impatient. He was anxious to get back to his friends.

"I agree my friend, can I have that drink I ordered please?"

"Trust me, you're not going to want any drink in this bar."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, the man who ran this place before me, uh..."

"Akio."

"Was that his name, I never bothered to learn it. Anyways, he found something wrong with the alcohol in this place." Guy noticed a large number of people in the bar were beginning to cough heavily, including his friends.

"I don't believe this, how could Akio allow this to happen and how can you sell this?"

"Well here, ask him yourself." The man reached behind the bar and pulled out the decapitated head of Akio. He tossed it at Guy, who recoiled in horror.

"Genma, Ebisu we got a problem here." He turned to look at his friends who were now motionless, as was eveyone else in the bar.

The man hopped over the bar and squared up to Guy. "Phew, this was a lot of work but I think it was worth it, now we have the entire bar as an arena. There's something about fighting amongst the dead that gets my blood rushing." Guy cracked his knuckles and his neck. "I am Madara Uchiha."

"I don't care. I was really looking forward to this evening and you ruined it. I don't care if you're the First Hokage reincarnated." His voice was threatening.

Madara got into his own fighting stance. "I have a tattoo of him on my chest, wanna see?"

A lightning fast punch rocked Madara's body, he was unable to block the subsequent headshot. An approving growl was earned from Madara as he let loose with his own flurrry of jabs. Guy had a solid defence as he did offence and either dodged or countered Madara's efforts. Madara sent a sneaky, powerful punch to the gut that caught Guy off guard and allowed Madara an opening to work the body.

The two titans slugged it out, both having impressive manoeuvres and there was sort of a mutual respect between them. Guy began to gain the upper hand when a kick from Madara went wrong. Madara was forced to back up as Guy now picked him apart, there was no compromise from any of his blows. Speed and power balanced perfectly and formed one hell of a punch.

"You're an impressive fighter, the best I've ever seen!" Madara cried out joyfully. Guy didn't respond or slow down, he was fighting in such a focused, cool, calm and collected way, and he was winning.

Guy closed the gap between them with a running kick, Madara felt a few ribs break, his karma catching up to him most likely. He staggered across the floor and pulled himself up on a table, which contained two dead patrons. When he was sure Guy was close enough, he grabbed a pint glass from the table and smashed it across Guy's face. He let out a roar and covered his cheek, allowing Madara to run the broken glass along Guy's throat.

"I'll tell you this buddy, your tougher than me that's for sure. Luckily though, not a single person will know that, so allow me to do the honor of finishing you off. Don't look at me like that, I never said I'd fight fair. Alright your angry expression is making me feel bad, so I'm going to kill you now." Madara finished him off by slitting his throat.

His insides hurt, he was bloody and bruised and he had a lot more people to kill. "This is the best 'welcome home' I've ever received." He spit out the blood in his mouth on Guy and looked around the corpse-filled bar. He supposed he got a good start on the whole 'killing people' thing.


	17. Chapter 17

Sasuke had a spring in his step as he walked behind Tenten, who was practically skipping. He was impressed, most women he slept with the night before would normally be limping the day after, seems Tenten could not only keep up with him but was slowly surpassing all previous partners. He was really struggling to keep his hands off her, even as they approached her shop. Sex at the office, now that prospect would surely get her blood pumping.

"I don't see Guy, he must be inside." Ah, that was a problem. He couldn't exactly screw her brains out when Guy was there... could he?

No! What was wrong with him? Tenten was becoming more and more addictive to him, so much so that it was messing with his head. Guy sent a message that he would meet them at Tenten's shop to collect his final paycheck. After Sasuke was done training her, she would never need protection again.

They made their way inside. "Guy." Tenten called out. No response, Sasuke looked around the shop and couldn't find a thing. He noticed a duffle bag in the center of the room.

"Your retirement fund?" He asked her, only to get a concerned look in return.

"That's not supposed to be there, no one knows about that other than me." She approached the bag and slowly unzipped it. Her skin went pale and she recoiled in horror. Sasuke went to see what was inside, only to have his blood turn cold, his stomach drop and his mind start racing.

"We have to go, now."

"But-"

"Now Tenten!" Inside the duffle bag were three severed heads: Konan's, Might Guy's and his brother's. Sasuke didn't have time to mourn at the moment, he had to get himself and Tenten to safety. He took an assault rifle off the wall, grabbed two sets of body armour from a crate, tossed the rifle and a set to her. As he put his own on, he noticed she hadn't even moved.

"Tenten wake up, there could be an army outside and I need you ready." She nodded limply at him as she pulled the armour over her head. He didn't like shouting at her but he'd seen this type of thing before. She was great in combat and had no problem with the killing, but seeing someone close to her dead and in a such a brutal way, was enough to send her into shock.

He cradled her face. "I'm sorry about Guy, whoever killed him and Itachi probably did it to draw us out. They wanted you to see that to terrify and break you, you're stronger than that. You with me?"

She nodded firmly. "I'm with you."

They took both sides of the door, Sasuke placed his hand on the handle and with his other began to count down. Tenten moved first and checked the alley, they were clear.

"Alright, let's move." As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, a crack of a rifle had him hitting the deck. He couldn't see the shooter and looked back to see if Tenten could, only to see his worst fears come to fruition. She was on the ground and clutching her stomach, Sasuke dragged her back inside the store.

"Keep pressure on it, I'm going to find the sniper. Keep breathing Tenten." He tried to keep his voice as calm as he could, her dark brown eyes looked pleadingly up at him and her arm grabbed his as tight as she could.

A crackling sound came from the duffle bag. "Sasuke, it is I... Itachi. I have come back from the dead to tell you that as far little brothers go, you were a disappointment." Laughing could be heard, before "Ah sorry about that but there was now way I could keep that up. I think you might know me better as Madara, I planted a little radio next to your brother's head. I also helped myself to one of the sniper rifles in there."

Sasuke couldn't believe it, the black sheep of the Uchiha had returned. "So Sasuke here's where we stand, no doubt you're fuming that I killed your brother and your girlfriend is bleeding out next to you. If you come out now and surrender, you have my word that she'll survive, hell I even have a bet with Obito that she does make it. So it's in both of our interests that you come out now."

Sasuke looked over at Tenten, who was coughing vehemently. All the worst case scenarios started to go through his head, collapsed lung, internal bleeding, the list went on. He crouched down and stroked her cheek. He saw no alternatives, even if he could out-snipe Madara, the time it would take would be too long. A sigh escaped his lips, he would have to trust the word of a known psychopath and murderer. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he'd make it but maybe Tenten just might. He rose to walk out and surrender, only for Tenten to pull his arm back.

"No surrender... you're stronger than that." She whispered. Not strong enough to lose her, of that he was sure. Weighing his options, Sasuke was interrupted by two soldiers clad in white armour entered the shop. Kusanagi decapitated the first and Sasuke managed to disarm the second. He placed Chidori to his temple and led him outside, as soon as he stepped out, another crack killed the soldier instantly.

Sasuke was forced to retreat again. "Oh Sasuke, I hope you didn't intend to bargain with that. Zetsu are even more expendable than Uchiha these days and there's a lot more where that came from. Actually, because of your deceitful ways, screw the bet. We're gonna kill you and Tenten, if she isn't dead already."

Well Madara seemed to make his choice a lot more clearer, along with the fact that Tenten had gone deathly pale and was now coughing up blood. He was tired of losing people close to him, no more. No fucking more.

Sasuke grabbed the fuel tank from an Amaterasu, a couple of mines and all the boxes of ammunition he could and placed them by the door. He then picked up a rocket launcher and blew a hole in the wall at the opposite end of the shop. He lifted Tenten bridal style and carried her out through the hole, her breathing was ragged and Sasuke could tell she was fading fast.

Madara heard the explosion and sent the rest of the Zetsu team in. The second the first soldier walked through the door, an even bigger blast took them all out. Some of the soldiers were engulfed in flames and their screams could be heard all the way from Madara's position on the roof, he thought about putting them out of their misery but then decided it would be a good lesson to teach the others. He didn't know how many times he had to explain that fire was hot.

He was impressed by Sasuke's actions, an Uchiha killer after his own heart. If his friend died, Sasuke would be coming after him and even if she didn't, odds were that he'd come after him anyway. The death of his brother almost guaranteed it.

"Now then, let's see what we can do to Anbu." If he couldn't have the Hokage, he'd take the next best thing.

* * *

Sasuke was sitting next to the surgery in the hospital, he didn't understand all of the hate hospitals got. Maybe it was because he'd spent so much time being patched up in grimy backroom clinics by 'doctors', butchers would be a better way to describe them. Bad food was better than none at all and their bedside manner consisted of more than "shut up and stop squirming."

His thoughts were brought back to the present. He was nearly kicked out of the hospital based on his looks alone, covered in dirt and blood with a sword and gun, holding a half-dead woman in his arms. After he made his position clear, and by clear he meant shouting and threatening a lot, a doctor took Tenten from him and rushed her into surgery.

He was exhausted, his brother was dead, he had no idea if Tenten was going to make it and on top of that, even if she did make it they had absolutely nothing to start a new life on. Itachi, Konan's head was there too which probably meant he had gone back for her to run into Madara and ... wait did Madara say Obito. Guess that explained the final missing piece of the puzzle, Itachi figured it out and now Obito had called in Madara to clear some loose ends.

Sasuke placed his face in his hands, he was out. He was nearly out of Konoha and then this happened, it was becoming too much for him. He couldn't take on an entire army alone and if Madara had also killed Guy, then Sasuke wouldn't be taking him one-on-one either.

Itachi, fuck. How long had Tenten been in there now? It felt like he had been sitting there for hours without a word from anyone. She'd pull through, he knew she would, or maybe he was just thinking that because she was the only thing keeping him from emptying his Chidori into the side of his own head.

* * *

Naruto's words were beginning to come true, some new asshole doing the bad guy routine. Though maybe it was the gore that he had to wade through in order to even get to the crime scene, that told him that this was different. The guards outside were eviscerated and then ... this.

Itachi and Konan beaten and then decapitated. An iron bar was sticking out of what was left of Itachi's throat and Konan's body was completely shattered. What kind of animal could be responsible for this kind of destruction? Itachi's death had morale at an all time low, and the fact that it happened within the Anbu base had people paranoid. If they weren't careful Anbu could tear itself apart.

As the coroner lifted Konan's corpse, something caught Naruto's eye. Under her coat and next to the bloody knife, was what looked to be letters, a message. Itachi must have pulled the knife out of Konan and left a message, that was so like him, even in death he was still helping them. Naruto squinted as he tried to make out what the bloody smear said.

His eyes widened as he figured out what it said, he called Kakashi over. "What does that look like to you?"

Kakashi looked at the message before looking back at Naruto. There on the ground, one word: _Obito_

* * *

Sasuke watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, the steady beeping of the life-support machine was actually quite soothing to him. It reassured him that she was still here. After almost four hours of intense surgery, the doctor said that the worst was over. The armour had taken most of the impact but left Tenten with internal bleeding. The surgeons managed to remove the blood clots and repair the major blood vessels, now it was up for her body to do the rest.

He couldn't stay much longer, word of his presence would be making its way to Anbu ears and they would probably be on their way. He was certain that Madara wasn't after her, so was comfortable with her staying here. Even if they did come after her, Sasuke had someone to look after her. The door opened and in walked the Mizukage. She took in the sight of a distraught Sasuke, something she never thought she'd see.

"Thanks for coming Mei." His voice was hoarse, she noted. "How did you manage to get over here anyway, I would think the Mist would have you on a tight leash."

"No one has me on a leash Sasuke. I made the excuse of coming to see Tsunade about our Bijuu Dama disarmament, seeing as how you almost let one get in the hands of a terrorist group."

"We stopped it, well Itachi and... a friend stopped it."

"Your brother, he's getting a hero's funeral from what I hear, I was sorry to hear about his death."

"As is rightly so, he's earned a hero's funeral and a whole lot more. We can't leave, not yet. She needs time to recover and I've got some things to take care of."

Mei walked over and observed the unconscious woman who had managed to capture the young Uchiha's heart. "How long will that take?"

"That's up to Tenten, listen Mei if you can't stay that long I understand. We'll get out another way."

"No, it's alright. You look tired Sasuke, I have a hotel room that you could clean up in."

"Mei-" He began. There it was, that look, that was all she needed to see before she held a hand up to stop him.

"It's okay Sasuke, I was joking. I can see how infatuated you are, I'll stay for as long you need. It shouldn't be that hard to get you both out of Konoha. But Sasuke, this one man crusade, while admirable, is likely to get you killed."

"I know, that's why I need you to watch her, just in case I don't make it."

"Do you love her, do you really want me to tell her that you died while seeking revenge?" Did he love her? He honestly didn't know, he knew he couldn't live without her. He knew that in their time together, she made him see more than killing and sex. She made him want more out of life.

But he knew another thing. "Not revenge, an end. If I don't finish this, he'll come, he wont stop coming until one of us is dead. It's the fucking Uchiha blood running through me, that may as well be a target on my back."

"Alright Sasuke, I'll get her out you have my word."

"You're the best Mei, I ever tell you that?"

She turned before walking out of the room and gave him a sultry smirk. "You may have mentioned it once or twice."

They were alone again, Sasuke took a piece of paper from the bedside locker and left Tenten with one last message, just in case. Placing it in her hand, he gave her one last kiss before leaving.

Mei was right on one account, he couldn't do this alone. It was time for him to swallow his pride and go crawling back to Anbu. If there was one person with enough forgiveness, decency and empathy in him, it would be Naruto.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura walked back home in silence, as far as first dates go it was pretty terrible. They had hardly said a word to each other in the restaurant, it wasn't an awkward silence, that would be the day, just a sad one. First Minato, now Itachi, they were running out of role models and people to look up to.

"I'm sorry our date wasn't under the best circumstances." Naruto said.

Sakura sighed. "It's not your fault. What did Kakashi say?"

"He went over to Obito's place but it was completely abandoned." Naruto still couldn't believe it, how could Obito allow, no organise, his parents death. The worst part was how much sense it made, Obito was running everything from behind the scenes.

"Well aren't you two the cutest couple I've ever seen." A new voice came from the corner of the street.

"Uh thanks sir, we-" Naruto tried.

"You remind me of another couple I saw a long time ago. Yeah, you look just like him, and his wife also quite similar to you. Only she had red hair. I was so happy to meet the Hokage finally, he just didn't reciprocate my feelings or maybe he just didn't appreciate my comments about how I wanted to use his wife's face for target practice, and it wouldn't be bullets I'd be firing if you catch my drift."

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto asked.

"He didn't even mention me, I'm hurt. I thought he would tell you all about the one man who actually beat him."

"Madara." Naruto breathed. Oh he had heard of him, the bogeyman of Uchiha was in Konoha, without anyone knowing.

"You know that's a pretty similar reaction to the one your buddy Sasuke had when he heard my name."

The only weapon Naruto had on him was his kunai, he slowly reached for it but Madara saw and responded with an elbow to the nose. Naruto collapsed immediately much to Madara's disappointment. He looked to Sakura who began rolling up her sleeves.

"Listen sweetheart, I understand your feelings are hurt but what do you think you can do?" A punch forced Madara to take a step back. Well this was a pleasant surprise.

"You fight well for a woman. You know I think we got off on the wrong foot, I'm actually quite a nice guy if you get to know me. That's what my last girlfriend said, actually she wasn't my girlfriend, just a friend. Actually she was just a random girl I had kidnapped and bound. But she seemed sincere, well that might be because I threatened to kill her... what was I talking about again?"

Another punch burst his lip and blood began to trickle down his chin. He gave her a smile, revealing a disgusting mouthful of bloody teeth. He caught her next punch and responded back with two of his own to the right side of her face. Her momentum gone, Sakura went to fall to the ground, only to be caught by her hair. Three more sickeningly hard punches to the right side of her face had her out cold.

Naruto tried reaching for his fallen kunai, which Madara picked up. "When your girlfriend puts up a better fight, I don't know what that says about you. I like to think the damage I did to your father was psychological. For you though, I'm thinking of something more... physical."

Madara grabbed Naruto and began to dig the kunai into his cheek. Naruto's howls filled the night air, as Madara made three scars on each cheek.

"There you are little fox, something to remember me by." Madara said, stomping on Naruto's face to knock him out.

* * *

He awoke in the med-bay, his head hurt like hell and had bandages around the edge of his face, probably to prevent infection. He turned to look for Sakura... oh fuck.

The right side of her face was completely swollen and bruised over she couldn't see out of her eye. Naruto got out of his bed and slowly walked over, she had just woken up and the look of pure concern and mortification on Naruto's face was enough for the tears to start spilling.

"How bad is it?" She sobbed, what a stupid question. She couldn't see out of her eye, what the hell did she expect Naruto to say?

To her surprise though, he gave her a soft smile. "You're still the prettiest-looking woman that I know." She sat up and launched herself at Naruto's chest, he wrapped his arms around her. He could feel his shirt begin to grow wet but he didn't care, they stayed like that until Sakura had cried herself to sleep.

Supporting each other, like they always did.


	18. Chapter 18

Sasuke walked into Anbu headquarters, donning a gray sleeveless jacket with the Uchiha symbol proudly emblazoned on the back. With Itachi dead, and Obito and Madara doing whatever the hell they wanted, he alone would be the one to bring honor back to his family.

So far he hadn't been shot-on-sight so that was a positive. The people working here looked tired, beaten down and ragged, a stark contrast to how they were when he left. He was almost certain he wasn't going to get a 'Prodigal Son' type of welcome back. Stopping in the center of the main room he looked around, finally Shikamaru of all people noticed him. Just as he was about to say something Shikamaru looked beyond him, Sasuke quickly turned around and just managed to stop Sakura from sticking a knife in his back.

Her eyes were full of hatred and rage but that wasn't what caused him to flinch, her face showed signs of being severely beaten. She tried to yank her wrist free and when that failed, she spat in his face.

Now Sasuke wasn't expecting a warm welcome and had prepared for such, but even he had his limits. All of the pent up anger and frustration rose to the suface and before he knew it, he had punched Sakura in the stomach. She fell back gasping as soon as he realised what he had done, he tried to help her up but she backed away from him. Anger was replaced by fear, he still hadn't been shot yet, which at this rate was a miracle. Then Sasuke saw why, fear was now replaced with relief.

Sasuke turned his head to the right and saw the blonde head of his old friend make its way towards him. He expected a smiling 'I knew you'd be back' type of Naruto, what he got instead shocked him.

Naruto wasn't smiling at all, Naruto wasn't welcoming him back, Naruto had deep scars on his cheeks that definitely weren't there before, Naruto's fist was-

* * *

Sasuke groaned as he sat up. Seemed Naruto had trained hard in his absence, he definitely didn't hit that hard or fast before. He was in the med bay, not tied down, strange. On the edge of the bed, Naruto sat, twirling his kunai.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your parents." No response. "You have to know I had nothing to do with it. Pain had already tried to kill me, I barely got away. Turns out I was helping you clear out the rats all along, Deidara, Danzo and Kisame. Judging by those scars and Sakura's face, I gather you ran into Madara. Well so did I, he took out Itachi, Konan and some friends of mine. I need your help-"

Naruto pointed his kunai directly in Sasuke's face, millimetres from his eye. "Why did you come here Sasuke? What did you think was going to happen?" He pointed at the door. "Do you know how many people out there want you dead, we had to lock the door to stop them from killing you in your sleep. Neji wants to execute you and I can't say I blame him."

"Hn, why not lock me up or at least restrain me."

Naruto's face turned serious. "Because there is absolutely nothing you can do to me. You may have been better than me before you left but things changed, now you're about as threatening as a malnourished new born baby."

Sasuke's pride would have taken a hard hit, if not for the fact that he did not give one shit about Naruto's posturing. He stood up, cracked his neck and finally took in all the other people in the infirmary.

"What happened?"

"Zetsu. They're a mercenary group who-"

"I know who they are, Madara's in charge of them. He doesn't seem to value them much at all."

"He shouldn't, they're pretty incompetent. Still, you seem to know a lot about them, how do I know you're not working for Madara?"

Sasuke really needed to get his temper under control because before he knew it drops of blood were hitting the floor.

Naruto clutched his bloody nose. "I'm going to pretend that you didn't insinuate I had something to do with my brother's death."

"Why not, he said he didn't see you after he left the Akatsuki." Sasuke smiled sadly, even when he was back in Anbu, Itachi refused to sell him out. Sasuke walked past Naruto and kicked down the door. Several guns were trained on him as he walked back into the center of the main room, he hoped this ended with him both conscious and alive.

"Many of you want to kill me, it's understandable. Yes I took innocent people's lives, some of whom you knew. But look at your current situation, Madara Uchiha is tearing through you like a dog tears through a piece of meat. This place is resembling a funeral home more than the last defenders of Konoha. Itachi and I have been working behind the scenes, helping you all with the Akatsuki and Danzo. Oh what, some of you didn't know that Danzo was a traitor, shows what a good job you're doing."

"So what exactly is your plan Sasuke?" Naruto asked, making his way through the sea of people, he seemed to be calmer than before.

"Make no mistake, Madara's a dead man. He thinks he's top of the food chain, well I'm going to pull the ladder out from underneath him and before he hits the ground it'll be my face he sees. Madara's a hunter, so to draw him out, we offer him some decent prey. Where's Kakashi?"

"He's not here." Sakura piped up, also making her way to the front of the crowd. "He said he had a lead on Obito and wanted to follow it up alone." Sasuke looked guiltily at her and then Naruto, before sighing.

"Then the Hokage." Someone in the crowd barked out a laugh. Naruto and Sakura looked at him as if he had two heads.

"Are you suggesting we use Tsunade as bait? First off there's no way that is going to happen, second surely there must be someone better than Tsunade we can use." Sakura said incredulously.

"Once Madara gets the scent of the last Sannin and the Hokage, he'll come running."

"Well we don't know about Oro-" Naruto started.

"Trust me, she's the last Sannin. Look I don't expect you all to forgive, but if you want to beat Madara, having an Uchiha on your side is a must."

"We had an Uchiha, and a better one than you I might add. We'd also have a lot more people still around if it wasn't for you." Neji said coldly.

Sasuke's face and voice softened. "Like I said Neji, I don't expect you to forgive me. It probably doesn't matter to you, but for what it's worth, I am sorry for what I did. If you really think I deserve to die," Sasuke raised his arms, "take your best shot."

Everyone looked to Neji for his decision, out of all them, he had probably lost the most due to Sasuke. So whatever he decided, they would also go along with. His hands gripped his gun tightly, one finger rested gently on the trigger. Sasuke eyes narrowed and a bead of sweat rolled it's way past his temple.

Thinking hard about it, Neji eventually sighed before lowering his weapon. "I will not bring myself down to your level Uchiha. You get us Madara, then I will leave it up to Kakashi to decide what do with to you."

Sasuke nodded slowly at him, despite their family's differences there was always some sort of mutual respect between them, even if it was begrudging. Sasuke then turned his attention to Shikamaru.

"I hope you're still the smartest one out of all these imbeciles. If so, you should be able to find a way to set up an ambush, without getting the Hokage killed."

Shikamaru sighed. "I suppose there never really was any fear of you actually coming up with something, what a drag. I'll think of something."

With Neji allowing Sasuke to live, most people began to clear out. Sasuke strolled up to Naruto and Sakura, who were speaking with a man he'd never seen before. It didn't take long for Sasuke to figure that this was his replacement.

"You alright?" He asked Sakura.

She grunted. "Fine, you hit like a bitch anyway."

"I see you still have the personality of one as well." He retorted.

Naruto got between them before another brawl broke out. "Eh Sasuke, this is Captain Yamato, he's been filling in for you."

Sasuke shook his hand. "If these two vouch for you, that's good enough for me."

"Er, likewise." Yamato awkardly replied.

Naruto couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading across his face, even if he tried. "Team 7, reunited and better than ever."

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. "What are you talking about? Look around idiot, I've seen happier people at a funeral. If Kakashi's gone after Obito, then Madara won't be too far behind, so he's likely dead by now. You're deluding yourself with these naive fantasies of relieving the glory days. People like Zabuza and the Sound Four don't exist anymore, now monsters like Pain and Madara have stepped in to take their place."

Naruto's big, dumb, stupid grin refused to leave his face. "I dunno Sasuke, I wouldn't count Kakashi out so soon. He stood up to all Six Paths of Pain and managed to take two of them out."

Sasuke was impressed, it was more than he managed to do. "Whatever, you two need to convince Tsunade to act as bait. I'll meet up with you tomorrow to discuss the plan of attack."

Just as he turned around Naruto stopped him. "Don't you need a place to stay?"

"I'm not staying with you, the last thing I want to hear at night is the sound of you and Sakura fucking." He said, as he casually walked out the door.

* * *

Sasuke was back in the hospital, he dragged his chair over to Tenten's bedside.

"Still asleep huh? Leave it all to me to take out Madara." What was he doing, talking to unconscious people now? She didn't stir, he remembered hearing somewhere that people can still hear while in coma. He shrugged mentally and continued.

"I went home yesterday. Had to get a new outfit, seeing as how my old one was mostly covered in your blood, so thanks for that. I managed to sneak in and out, my parents seem to be doing okay. Well my father anyways, my mother was in Itachi's room. She probably didn't want to worry my father but... the sound of her crying was unmistakable. I guess that's the second son she has lost. I'd like for you to meet her one day, under better circumstances."

Sasuke looked over again, still hardly any signs of life. Before he left yesterday, his mother walked into his room, he had jumped out the window and was about to leave. He had to get one last look at her before he left, just to be sure that she was alright, being physically healthy these days was becoming more and more pf a blessing. She sat on his bed and stroked the picture he kept on his nightstand. It was one of just the two of them, of the early days when they were both at home while Fugaku was at work and Itachi was at school.

He treasured those days, his mother always had something for the two of them to do together and that day she decided to go the beach with him. He remembered the day well because their was a red-haired woman there with her son. Sasuke thought the boy was loud and overly-energetic and he stepped on Sasuke's sand castle. He couldn't remember exactly what he had said but it was enough for the boy to declare that, together they could build an even bigger and better castle. And so the unlikely friendship between an idiot and superior-in-every-way Uchiha had begun.

"I also went back to Anbu and I'll have you know that I made it 30 seconds without someone trying to stick a knife in my back. They have it bad there Ten, they're barely holding on. Hn, you know when I started off in there, I thought I would be the one to take Itachi's place. But I've only seen people give the same looks they gave him, to one other person. Naruto is the glue holding them all together, while they respected Itachi for his ability and commitment, it seems they look up to Naruto for his optimism and enthusiasm. I have to admit, he's doing a better job than I ever could and if you can hear this, don't ever tell him I said that. Last thing we need is that idiot getting an ego."

Sasuke stood up. "As enjoyable as this one sided conversation is, I'm afraid I've got some things to do. I'll be back later, that chair looks comfortable enough to sleep on." Sasuke just hoped he didn't get scoliosis before his fight with Madara. That plastic chair could very well be the greatest opponent he has ever faced, not that he had any choice, unless he wanted to kick Tenten out of the bed.

Placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, Sasuke left the hospital. If they were going after Madara, they needed every advantage they could get.

* * *

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Alright, go."

"Rock, paper, scissors go." They both said.

"Haha." Sakura laughed.

"Shit. Best two-out-of-three?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto you lost. Now get in there." They were outside the Hokage's building and deciding who should tell Tsunade about all that transpired.

"Wait Sakura, I didn't know we were going on 'go'. We should really start again."

"Naruto." She growled.

"Alright, alright. How's your stomach?"

"I'm fine." She huffed. She was still pissed off that Sasuke managed to get a shot in, and a hard one at that. Naruto on the other hand, was pissed that he thought him and Sakura were having sex, sure he might've been slightly obvious in his affection towards her. And by obvious, he meant following her like a lovesick puppy, eyes wide, tongue out and tail wagging. But that didn't mean they were having sex, and what business was it of Sasuke's and why did he care? The whole thing was enough to make Naruto really mad.

"Naruto!" Snapping him out of it. "Get in there."

"Aw but Sakura, Tsunade hates me. Why can't you tell her, you're her student."

"She doesn't hate you Naruto, and besides you lost fair and square. You'll be fine." She said, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

Naruto walked through the building, until he came to Tsunade's door. "Alright Jiraiya, if you're up there, I could use some that charm of yours for good luck." Wait a minute, what charm? His Godfather's 'charm' normally led to him getting pepper sprayed or faced with sexual harassment charges. And why was Naruto doing this anyway? Who was in charge while Kakashi was away, they really needed to recheck the chain-of-command.

Naruto gulped and made his way in. There was absolutely no way she was going to go for this.

* * *

Obito pulled out the key for his safehouse. He had to get out of here, he knew Madara was going to be bad but this was too much. At this rate Obito was likely to die, due to collateral damage alone. As he rushed inside, his shoulders slumped at the sight in front of him.

He chuckled. "How'd you find me?"

Kakashi was sitting down in an armchair, his arms folded and one leg propped up on the other. He looked more relaxed than he probably felt, a psychological trick in order to either lull Obito into a false sense of security, or make him uneasy at Kakashi's confidence.

"Itachi left us a message before he died, well before you horrifically murdered him. After that I got talking to Rin, you underestimate her, she was on our team after all, the team you betrayed. She told me about this place you had an address for and well, here we are."

"That bitch always was too smart for her own good. She provided a decent cover-story, that I was better than I really was."

"You killed Minato and Kushina." Kakashi spoke softly.

"Ah now you see, I didn't do that, Nagato did."

"You ordered it!" Kakashi roared. "And for what, so you could get closer to the position of the Hokage? You were already in training for the job."

"It felt good, having all that power. Going from the fuck-up of our old team, to being able to do whatever the hell I wanted. And the best part is, I managed to fool you all, none of you were any the wiser."

"You killed Minato and Kushina, because you have an inferiority complex?" Kakashi said slowly, as if he didn't believe the words he was speaking. He lowered his mask slightly, and let his fingers trail across the scar over his left eye. "I bled for you, we all did."

"Oh rub it in my face Kakashi. You just still don't get it."

"No I don't get it and by now I'm past caring. You're coming with me Obito." He said, standing up.

"That's were your wrong Kakashi." He got into a fighting stance that reminded Kakashi of the old days.

"Obito... this won't end like back then."

"You're right Kakashi, this time I'm going to win. Here let me start by giving some more scars to remind you of me."

Obito took out two knives and left an x-like pattern on Kakashi's torso, Kakashi cried out before fighting back. They striked, locked, counter-locked and grappled, all the while Kakashi was reminded of their old spars when Minato, Kushina and Rin would watch. Obito had apparently improved drastically since then and Kakashi had his hands full. A kick to Kakashi's temple forced to the ground and he barely managed to roll out of the way before Obito stomped the ground behind him. Kakashi managed to disarm one of the knives, before a punch sent him flying. As he was forced back, he threw one the knives and left a satisfying laceration on Obito's cheek.

Obito however grinned and grabbed a katana off the wall, Kakashi eyed it warily before pulling out two kunai and spinning them. Being Anbu leader had its perks, one of which was better equipment. Obito cracked his neck and ran at Kakashi. Sparks flew as they parried, blocked and did a dance of blades Kakashi never thought Obito was capable of. Obito yanked Kakashi arm painfully causing him to drop one kunai, Kakashi responded by bringing his knee into Obito's katana arm. They got into another grapple before Obito headbutted him back and held up a grenade.

"I'm going to borrow this." Kakashi never even saw him grab it.

He dived to the side as the explosion went off. As he got back to his feet, Obito was there and slammed his head twice into the wall. He pulled out another knife, Kakashi could see the Rinnegan dripping from it. Kakashi pulled out a stun gun and put it up to Obito's chest, directly shocking him. Obito fell to the ground and when he recovered enough to look, Kakashi was standing over him with his Chidori aimed directly at him.

Obito looked disappointed before kicking Kakashi's gun to the side, causing it to fire a round into the wall on the right, and plunged his knife into Kakashi's arm. They grappled once more, Obito threw Kakashi away but he took the gun with him. It felt light though, Obito opened his hand and let the magazine fall to the ground.

"One in the chamber Kakashi, don't miss." He wouldn't miss, at least he wouldn't if that damn Rinnegan hadn't kicked in. Seriously Tsunade couldn't develop a cure that would prevent future doses from affecting him? Kakashi's whole body began to tremble as Obito silently pulled out another knife, out of Kakashi's view. He slowly began to walk towards Kakashi.

"Stay back." Kakashi mumbled.

"Come on Kakashi, what do you think I'm gonna do. Remember, friends to the end." Obito plunged the knife into Kakashi, aiming for his heart, simultaneously Kakashi fired his last round directly into Obito's heart. Obito's momentum and Kakashi's lack of strength forced the two of them to collapse on top of each other.

Kakashi looked directly into Obito's lifeless eyes as his own strength began to leave him. Their blood was beginning to pool together and Kakashi wasn't able to push him off. He felt his body begin to shut down and contemplated on life in his final moments. He was looking forward to seeing Minato, Kushina and his father again, he knew his team was more than capable to take on Madara. He hoped Sasuke was doing well, even if he had lost his way Kakashi would never stop caring about him, kind of like the way a parent would never stop loving their child.

With too many thoughts on his mind, he began to slowly stop thinking. He was quite tired and Obito was quite heavy. Even if it was ending like this, Kakashi had quite enjoyed his last fight with his longtime friend. If it ever came to it, he hoped Naruto and Sasuke's fight wouldn't end like this. He hoped his wayward student would one day find his way home, yes that was a nice image. Team 7, reunited once again.

With a sigh of content, Kakashi Hatake closed his eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

"Please wake up." Sakura sobbed. They found Kakashi and brought him back to the infirmary, Sakura injected him with some more of the Rinnegan cure but nothing appeared to be working. The knife had narrowly missed his heart but that didn't stop the poison from taking effect, Sakura had tried everything she could to help him. Obito's corpse was now residing in the morgue, where he had missed his target, Kakashi didn't.

Behind her, Naruto could feel his own tears welling up. Not now, not when Sasuke was back, not when Team 7 was back. Kakashi held Team 7 together, that was the simple fact of the matter. Sure they had trained under other teachers; Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato and Itachi. But Kakashi... he was their first, he molded them into what they were today.

Sasuke leaned against the wall behind both of them, his head bowed, either out of respect or sadness, possibly both. He had counted Kakashi out originally but then Naruto had filled him with hope for his old teacher, he should have known better than to believe that idiot's blind optimism.

Yamato entered the room and took in the sight of a despondent Team 7, with Kakashi barely hanging on it looked like it was up to him to hold them together. He'd be lying if there wasn't a part of him that always felt slightly inadequate in comparison to Kakashi. The man was a legend with a long history in Anbu, whereas he had come from the Root, a now disgraced organisation. Which was saying a lot given its long sordid history, he could remember how relieved he had been when Danzo assigned him to take Sasuke's place.

He could hardly believe what Sasuke had told them about Danzo being a traitor, sure he gave off a menacing aura but Yamato thought he always had Konoha's best interests at heart. That revelation left Yamato holding no grudge or ill-will towards Sasuke, as opposed to some other people in the building.

Yamato cleared his throat before speaking. "It's time, if we want to draw Madara out, now's the time. Kakashi will be looked after while we're away."

Sakura turned, "No, he needs me. I'm the best medic here, I've dealt with the Rinnegan before and can help him."

"Sakura-" Naruto started.

"You're one of the best close combat fighters we have and if you managed to stand up to Madara before, then it's imperative that you be there, just in case it comes to it. Don't let Kakashi's sacrifice be in vain." Sasuke said.

" _His sacrifice_ he's not dead yet Sasuke. Then again you already counted him out earlier, so I guess it's all the same to you. Do you even care that our mentor is dying? You lost one already, so you must be desensitised to it by now."

"Sakura enough." Naruto was getting tired of being a mediator between the two of them.

Sasuke stared back silently at her. "You know you're right about one thing Sasuke. I did stand up to Madara, so did Naruto and so did Itachi. But what did you do? You turned and ran, came to us without a scratch." She stopped beside him, as she went to walk out the door. "Then again running away like a little bitch has always been one of your defining characteristics, hasn't it?"

Naruto gave him a half awkward, half apologetic look as he followed her out. Yamato had no idea how to segway from that but felt like he should say something.

"Don't take what she says too seriously, she missed you while they were gone, they all did. When I was brought in to take your place, Sakura spoke of you with admiration, Naruto spoke of you with fondness and Kakashi spoke of you with pride. I realised that there was no way I could possibly fill all the roles you brought to Team 7, so I didn't try. I'm beginning to see what they were talking about though. Just out of interest how did Danzo die?"

"Efficiently." Sasuke replied callously, Yamato nodded and went to join Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke sighed and walked over to his old teacher, they didn't even bother to take off his mask.

"You honestly just couldn't have waited until I came back boss? Were you that determined to add yourself to the growing list of people I care about who are dying, it's a popular list, I know. I would go into detail and reminisce about the good times and all that but, we always had a sort of silent understanding, didn't we? It's just come to my attention that I've been speaking more with comatose people than conscious people recently, they're just better listeners in my opinion. Anyway, wish us luck Kakashi, I don't want any of us ending up on the table next to you."

Sasuke was about to leave but Kakashi's mask was really irritating him, could he even breath properly with it on? As soon as he went to lower it, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Even now, years later... you guys are still trying to look under my mask." Words completely failed Sasuke as his mouth hung open, and the look on his face amused Kakashi greatly. "Things must be pretty bad if you decided to join the fight. "

"I thought it was time to make my big return. "

"Really, and how did that go?"

"Meh, I only got knocked unconscious, so I'd say it went well."

"Sakura?"

"No Sakura tried to stab me, Naruto sucker punched me."

"You call it a sucker punch, I call it me being stronger and now faster than you." Naruto chimed in, as they all rushed to Kakashi's side.

Kakashi took in the sight of all three of his students together again. "Yes, Team 7 reunited indeed." He chuckled lowly.

"I told you this day would come Kakashi." Naruto said jubilantly.

"So you did Naruto... so you did." He said before passing out again.

"Come on, give him some time to rest, I dare say he's the safest one out of all of us." Yamato said, escorting them out. It didn't escape his notice that all three of them walked with their heads held higher and with renewed vigour.

* * *

Madara eyed the vehicle like a starved hawk who had just seen a tasty meal. His predatory senses took over, as he walked into the middle of the road. Arms outstretched in greeting, eyes gleaming in joy, he strolled up to the car which had blacked out windows and was presumably bullet proof. Madara viewed it like a puzzle box, thinking of multiple ways that he could get in. He decided to start off light by spraying the windows with bullets, nothing.

"Tsunade Senju, you probably won't believe me when I say this but your grandfather was my idol." Madara climbed on to the front of the car and began stomping on the windshield.

"Yes he heavily inspired me. Where he had helped to unite people and build this great city, I just wanted to dismantle the establishment and order he had set up. Think of it like this, Hashirama was the kid who spent time and effort to build a really elaborate sand castle and I was the kid who wanted to knock it down just for the sake of it."

"Heh that takes me back, eh Sasuke?" Naruto's voice came over Sasuke's radio who was peering over at Madara's efforts to break into the car.

"You know I was just reminiscing about that the other day, how are you doing in there?" Sasuke asked.

"It's pretty cramped actually, if you could give me the signal any time now, that'd be great."

Madara moved over to the door and began blasting the windows, he was quite persistent.

"Alright Naruto, he's backing up on the left side, when I give you the signal come out shooting." Sasuke said.

"You ready for this?" Naruto asked Sakura.

"As I'll ever be." Her hand was ready to open the door, while Naruto had his Rasengan poised.

"How about a kiss for good luck?"

"Tell you what Naruto, I might actually fuck you if we pull this off."

"Eh, I don't want that Sakura."

"What?!" Sakura was taken aback and slightly hurt, were his attempts to flirt with her just part of their friendly banter. Had she completely misread their growing relationship?

"I want you to make love with me if we pull this off." His ridiculously cheesy grin and upbeat persona meant she couldn't be mad at him at that moment.

"As adorable as all that is, you guys are on an open mic and uh... MADARA IS RIGHT OUTSIDE." Sasuke yelled, couldn't those two do this another time?

"You certainly know how to kill the mood, you bastard." Naruto muttered before giving Sakura a quick kiss and nodded for her to open the door.

His Rasengan roared and the pellets from the buckshot riddled Madara's torso. Naruto moved to the right of him, while Sakura took the left. He didn't look to be in pain and actually sounded quite composed.

"Ah, that managed to draw the mice out of their hole." Sakura gave Naruto a worried look, Madara sounded way too calm.

"You don't sound concerned, you should be. You think you're in power, you think you have control of the situation?" Naruto tried to inject some authority into his voice.

Madara tipped his head back and laughed. "Boy I've had control over this situation before Shikamaru even thought it out."

"What are you-"

"I'd drop your guns if I were you, well actually I wouldn't but I know how much you like Sasuke... and Yamato I guess."

Sasuke stepped out, along with Yamato, with guns pointed at their heads. It wasn't Zetsu though, it was the Anbu team that had insisted to come along with them. All other teams were out dealing with Zetsu, and Team 7 weren't about to refuse backup now.

"What the fuck?" Naruto shouted.

"Oh kid, how naive can you be. Did you honestly think Obito could remove all mention of himself from the reports of Amegakure without some help? These fine gentleman were grown in the Root and now swear allegiance to me, given that all other figures of authority are dead."

"Why not support the Hokage?" Sakura asked them.

"You know they just might have but when I offered them Sasuke Uchiha and Yamato, one of them left their beloved leader, the other killed him. That seemed to grab their attention."

"Damn." Naruto growled, he couldn't see a way out of this one. Madara took off an extra large bullet proof vest, it made a large clang as it hit the floor. The pellets of Naruto's Rasengan could be seen and while Madara might not be bleeding, he probably had a pretty nasty bruise.

"You know Naruto, a wise man once said 'you come at the king, you best not miss'. You had your chance and you missed, you didn't aim for my head, probably because you wanted to draw out my death. Your thirst for revenge has doomed every one of your friends. You ever play chess? Well when I play, I like to wipe every last piece before cutting the king down. That's what I'm going to do this city, you think I'm stupid enough to believe that Tsunade would travel around like this, practically asking to be attacked. No, I knew it was your half-hearted attempt at a strategy to get me, but I used it against you to clear the chessboard of a few very annoying pieces."

"Why, what do you want? What's your plan?" Naruto asked.

"Plan? Ask Sasuke, he has a better idea than me." Madara said, he walked behind Sasuke and wrapped both arms around him.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, feeling very uncomfortable by this contact.

"Oh Sasuke, if only you were born in Obito's place, we're not so different you and I." Madara sighed.

"For a start, one of us is sane."

Madara now crushed Sasuke's neck with his hands. "You're missing the point, I can see it in your actions and those Uchiha eyes. You don't think I know what you want, what drives you, what fills your life, wake up kid, I used to be you. Looking for the next fight, the next paycheck and the next thing to fuck, though I'm not as discriminatory as you in that regard." Madara cast appreciative eyes over both Naruto and Sakura.

"There is just something about a woman who can fight me that drives me crazy, and as for you... well you have your mother's eyes. Anyway, the Root here have been very patient so it's time to reward them." One of them clocked Yamato in the back of the head and sent him to the ground, preparing to execute him.

"Wait Madara," Sasuke started, "I will admit, there is one similarity between us. Like you, I always keep a few extra pieces hidden on the chessboard."

A whizzing sound was quickly replaced with the unmistakable sound of a bullet tearing through flesh. Madara kicked Naruto in the jaw as he went to pick up his shotgun, Sakura and Sasuke were taking on some of the traitorous Root and Yamato was bleeding profusely from his head. Madara grabbed a dazed Naruto and used him as a human shield against the sniper. No more shots were heard as Madara dragged Naruto into an alley, he prepared to finish him off by cracking his neck.

"Give your regards to my parents when you seAAH." Madara cried out as a tanto was lodged into his back.

"Sai?" Naruto said groggily, was it normal for an artist to carry a blade like that?

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me. Don't tell me your skinny little ass is gonna fight?"

"No, I'm going to finish this."

"That's precious." Madara said as he dropped Naruto and elbowed Sai square in the nose. A man of his age, who had just taken a shotgun blast and had a tanto stuck in his back should not be able to move that fast.

Madara slowly and painfully removed the blade from his back. He waited for the first person to come around the corner and threw it, Sasuke barely saw it coming before it stopped him in his tracks. Not looking to see if it killed him, Madara radioed in for Zetsu to pick him up. From what he'd heard they were running out of soldiers, which meant it was time for the last part his plan. He may portray a psychopath who breathed chaos but there was one thing he wanted to do before leaving Konoha once and for all.

Sasuke's breathing became erratic as he stared at the tanto planted in his shoulder. Madara must have been aiming for his head but just missed, Sai was out cold and Naruto was coming back to his senses.

"Oh shit, Sasuke." He dashed over and stared at the blade.

"Leave it in idiot, I don't want to bleed out in this alley. Speaking of which, Konoha has an absurdly high amount of alleys doesn't it?"

"Yeah man, it does." He said softly, not really sure what to say. Sakura rushed over and stopped at the sight of the two friends, Naruto hunched over Sasuke and smiling. As harsh as she was to Sasuke, she was really glad he was back.

"We'll get you back to base and patch you up Sasuke." She said but Sasuke shook his head.

"No... not back to base. You're going to have your hands full with Kakashi and Yamato... I'll go to the hospital."

"Are you fucking crazy Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he helped Sasuke stand.

"Just drop me off at the hospital idiot, we have Madara on the defensive now. Next time we meet him... will be the last."

Naruto looked doubtful. "Alright Sasuke, we'll take you the hospital and check on you tomorrow." Sasuke nodded his thanks as Naruto helped him out of the alley.

Sakura was about to leave too until, "What the fuck, is that Sai?"

* * *

"And that Tenten, is how I got us upgraded to this room with this double bed." Sasuke said. She was still unconscious but he saw nothing better to do, so decided to keep talking to her. He had stitches in his left shoulder and was feeling quite faint, but the worst part was how Madara's words refused to leave him.

He sighed and turned back to Tenten. Her peaceful form were stirring some feelings inside of him that he had no idea how to respond to, and Madara's little speech didn't help.

"You know Ten, when these people give me the whole cliche 'we are the same' speech, I tend to zone out. They're normally about to either die or get arrested and willing to try anything to get me to catch me off guard. But with Madara, first it was the confidence he spoke with, like he could relate and knew what he was talking about. Then there was what he said, it resonated with me. How often have in the past have I cared about anything more than either a mission, or where I can stick my cock next."

He stopped and thought about what his life would have become if he continued down that path. Besides a whole lot of Uchiha babies, happy was probably not synonymous with that type of life.

"I saw myself in him Tenten and I didn't like it. But I already had something more, I had you. You changed me, made me see past all of the bullshit and lead me away from that road of self-destruction. For that I can never thank you enough and it's why you better fucking wake up soon because I don't know if I can take another loss."

"Well I'm sure raising your voice at her, will wake her up faster." A grinning Naruto said, leaning against the wall.

"W-what are you doing here?" Sasuke was horrified, he had brought Tenten into his mess once, he didn't want to drag her in again.

"I told I'd come check on you and-"

"Get out."

"I knew there had to be something more to you coming back. Sakura and Kakashi won't believe this."

"Get... out."

"So what's her name?"

"Get out Naruto!"

"Why? Because you don't me to see you act like a normal fucking human. You took you defenses down around her and that's not nothing Sasuke, in the twenty years I've known you, you always act like an emotionally crippled bastard. However in the past two days, you've cracked jokes and just been less of a dickhead all around, so I will agree that she has changed you and I'd like to get to know her." Naruto shouted back.

Sasuke stared back at him before relenting. "Her name is-"

"Tenten." She said. Sasuke turned and looked into the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen.

* * *

Naruto had introduced himself and pretty swiftly left, leaving the doctors to check up on her. There was bruising where the bullet had hit her body armour but the internal bleeding had stopped, her body had repaired itself nicely.

She kissed his shoulder where he had been stabbed. "He seemed nice."

"Naruto's an idiot."

"He's your best friend."

"He's not my friend."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "What are you five? How childish do you have to be to admit he's not your friend?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Whatever, how are you feeling?"

A coy smile placed itself on her lips. "Were you worried?"

"Of course I was worried." He said seriously.

"Did you cry?"

"No, I did not cry."

"I bet you cried." She said in a singsong voice. "Hell, even when you were about to surrender I think I saw a few tears in the corners of your eyes."

"Probably some dust from those weapons you never cleaned, Ow!" She pinched one of his nipples.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." She rested her head on his chest, the steady beat of his heart like a lullaby in her ear.

"I did miss you." He said faintly.

She joined their hands together. "I know beautiful, something told me you did."

He looked down at her, wondering if that meant she heard everything he said. Then he relaxed again, realising he didn't care, he had talked to her as if she was awake and he wanted to her to hear it all.

"Tenten... you, I-" Having his words fail him was not something he was used to but she seemed to get what he meant.

"I know Sasuke, I know." She said before drifting off in his arms.


	20. Chapter 20

"We could run, leave all of this behind us."

"We both know you don't mean that."

"I might, if you wanted to go, I'd be right beside you."

"Sasuke don't use me as an excuse. If you want to run away again and let me handle this, that's fine."

"Leave you alone with my teammates? You'd go insane."

"I don't know, I think they already like me more than you. Plus they're far better company."

Sasuke scoffed. "Yes I'm sure you and Naruto would have very engaging conversations."

"I'm beginning to think that you're either secretly jealous or in love with Naruto." Tenten said, rolling her eyes.

"As if I would be jealous of that idiot." He averted his gaze. "And you should already know that the latter is not true."

Tenten beamed at him before practically yanking his face towards hers, they shared a deep kiss before being interrupted.

"Ahem." Naruto cleared his throat. They pulled apart to see Naruto, Sakura and Sai staring at them.

"How did you get in here?" Sasuke demanded, the last thing he needed was Naruto teasing him some more.

"We're ninjas dumbass, we sneaked in." Naruto said sarcastically. "How the fuck do you think we got in Sasuke, if you weren't so busy trying to convince Tenten in having a quickie in the office, you might have heard us. Come on, we gotta figure out Madara's next move."

Tenten gave Sasuke a quizzical look as they walked out of the room. "He's lying, I would never to that here. For one, no one here really caught my eye enough to warrant having sex with them."

He meant to say it so that only Tenten could hear but ahead of them Sakura, without turning around, flipped him off. Tenten giggled and couldn't help but feel like part of the team, it was a great sensation. She had always been the lone wolf type of person but with most of Anbu either being injured by Zetsu attacks, or outed by Sai, who had been able to recognise the Root members, they needed every bit of help they could get.

They finally arrived into the center of the main room and everyone sat on a table or chair. A tired looking Shikamaru and a beaten, broken and bruised Kakashi awaited them.

"I'm surprised to see you on your feet Kakashi." Sasuke said.

"I already left the planning to you guys once and what did I get? Well I got nothing, but you got stitches, Sai got knocked out and Yamato is out of commission."

"Speaking of which, what the hell Sai?" Sakura asked.

"Ah, well like Yamato, I am also ex-Root. I coincidentally met Sasuke and Tenten while trying to assassinate Danzo. He sent a team to murder Ino and I thought he was coming after me, by going through her. On that note, I would greatly appreciate it if you kept this from her, I would rather her not know about my past."

"Uh sure Sai." Sakura said, still dazed from the fact that this mild-mannered, harmless man turned out to be a more efficient killer than herself or Naruto. On the bright side though, he seemed to genuinely care about Ino and he would protect her no matter what, so Sakura would keep his secret.

"If that's all well and good, let's move on to Madara." Kakashi said. "I've had Shikamaru dig up everything we have on his history and background to see what that can tell us."

"Going through files upon files was such a drag but I managed to find something on Madara. He had a younger brother, Izuna, who spoke out and asked for the Uchiha corporation to spread the wealth all over Konoha. He was becoming such a pain to the corporation that he wound up dead a while later, with his eyes carved out. Most likely by his own family."

" _Ask Sasuke, he has a better idea than me."_ Naruto recalled.

Everyone turned to face Sasuke. "Let's go." He said simply.

* * *

"A call for help was made inside the building about half an hour ago, it seems we're about right on time." Kakashi's voice came in over the radio. Beside him, Tenten gave Sasuke's hand a reassuring squeeze, he hardly seemed to acknowledge it. The normal feeling of excitement before a mission was replaced with dread, deep down in his stomach knots of worry were beginning to form.

"I'm sure they'll be fine Sasuke." Tenten reasoned. "The whole Uchiha estate is huge and the odds of Madara finding your parents before we get to him, is pretty unlikely."

"Unlikely, but not impossible." He whispered back to her.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "It'll be okay Sasuke, I promise." He wanted so badly to believe her.

Naruto was planning with Sakura and Kakashi about their plan of attack. "Everybody got it? You go in the main building, probably where Madara is, while all remaining Anbu teams will go and clear out the rest of the Uchiha estate."

"Yeah boss, see you on the other side." Naruto said.

"Alright, Shikamaru will be running radio communications from here on out but I'll be keeping an eye on everything, good luck and uh... don't die."

Naruto turned. "See Sakura, even Kakashi couldn't come up with a better speech if he tried."

She gave him a pointed look before noticing Naruto had a rather grim expression. "Hey, everything alright?"

"Just nostalgic, last time I was in this jeep was when I came from the Hyuuga building. Now we're going to the Uchiha building to put a stop to all this, once and for all."

Sakura didn't know how to respond to that, it felt like years since Hinata's death and here they were, reunited with her killer and about to save his family. It was pretty fucked up now that she thought about it.

"What are our odds Naruto?"

"Madara tore apart every single person in this jeep, all five of us. I dunno Sakura, if all of us make it out this alive, I think we'll be doing well."

She rested her hand on top of his. "Got your back."

"As always." He kissed her slowly, as if it was the last kiss they would ever share, she certainly hoped not.

"You still owe me a proper date, so uh don't die." He smiled warmly at her.

* * *

They pulled up to the Uchiha estate, where Sasuke, Tenten and Sai made quick work of the Zetsu standing at the doorway. All five of them moved up and Sakura tossed a flashbang. Bullets whizzed, wooden desks splintered and Zetsu soldiers cried out in agony but by the end, all five of them were unscathed.

"Well that's one floor down, how many more to go Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"44."

Naruto went deathly pale. "Oh, I see."

"Don't worry, bad guy logic dictates that Madara will be on the top floor." Tenten tried.

"Then that's where you and me are heading." Sasuke said to Naruto.

Naruto nodded. "Right."

"Hold on-" Sakura and Tenten started.

"Listen girls," Naruto said.

"Madara singlehandedly beat all of us before." Sasuke continued.

"We need to finish this,"

"One way or another."

"And we need you to wipe out all remaining Zetsu in the building,"

"That way we know you'll be safe." Sasuke finished.

Not allowing any chances for an argument, he pulled Tenten into his arms and whispered. "I love you."

"Love you too." Damn him, she wouldn't dare let him see how close she was to tears.

Naruto and Sakura faced each other. "You're loud and obnoxious." Sakura said.

"You're one of the most stubborn people I've ever met." He countered.

"You aren't nearly as cool as you think you are."

"You aren't nearly as smart as you think you are."

"I would be lost without you though." She admitted.

"I really would be dead if you didn't patch me up all those times."

"Don't you fucking die now." She said angrily.

"I'm much too cool to die right at the end Sakura."

"I really don't wish to rush you but every second you wait, Madara has probably killed someone else." Sai stated.

"And what are you going to do?" Sasuke asked.

"I will stay here and prevent anymore Zetsu troops from following you up."

"Thanks Sai." Everyone said.

Naruto and Sasuke got into the elevator and with a nod from Sasuke and wink from Naruto, they were gone.

"So, how many Zetsu do you think are still in the building." Tenten asked.

"Wanna count and see?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, whoever kills the most Zetsu will be declared the winner." Tenten agreed.

Sakura giggled. "I like the way you think."

* * *

"Man, you have gotten soft." Naruto said to Sasuke, as the elevator moved up.

"Maybe I just grew up." Sasuke replied.

"That's your defence?"

"I'm not defending myself Naruto, that's how I genuinely feel."

"Heh, never thought I'd see the day where a woman would change you like this Sasuke."

"Stranger things have happened, I never thought Sakura would fall for you in a million years."

"Bastard." A silence hung in the air. "So what's our plan?"

"Kill Madara." Sasuke stated.

"Simple, I like it. Though I think I may have a better one."

* * *

Madara Uchiha sat in a chair overlooking Konoha, such a beautiful city, he was about to make it even better. Behind him the elevator doors opened and out stepped Naruto.

"So you figured it out." Madara said, sounding oddly serious.

"Is that-" Naruto pointed at a large cylindrical device in the room.

"A Bijuu Dama, no. Just the outer shell of one, the actual blast will only destroy this building."

"Why?"

Madara ignored him. "Did you come alone?"

He and Naruto paced around the room, focus entirely on the other. "Yeah, kind of a suicide mission but I thought it would be worth it."

"You can leave now."

"What?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Go ahead leave, I won't stop you." Madara said.

"Yeah right and then you shoot me in the back as I leave."

"I give you my word I won't. You're not the enemy Naruto."

"Of course I am, I came here to kill you."

Madara sighed. "You know you can't beat me."

Naruto smirked, with their pacing around the room, Madara's back was now to the elevator. "You dumbass, I'm not going to beat you, we are."

Sasuke rammed his blade through Madara's torso. Naruto and he had ripped the emergency exit off the top of the elevator and Sasuke had been hiding there, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Madara coughed up blood and fell to his knees, as Sasuke removed his sword and Naruto aimed his Rasenshuriken to finish him off.

"What did you mean by 'you're not the enemy'?" Naruto asked.

"Because you're not, neither of you are."

"Explain." Sasuke demanded.

"You guys are the good guys, fighting me, the big bad villain. It would be detrimental to Konoha to kill you."

"You already tried to!" Naruto roared.

"Every attack I dealt, I knew wouldn't kill you. I could have snapped your neck or aimed at your head Sasuke, with that tanto. But I didn't."

"Why?"

Madara sighed and spat out some blood. "This city has a lot of problems. You look at places like Sora-ku, hell even the amount of shithole, dirty alleys we have. The Uchiha and Hyuuga families control more than half the wealth of Konoha and do they raise a finger to help? Of course not. My brother tried to convince them to help this city, to invest in its future, and they tortured and killed him for it."

"So what, how can you possibly be doing anything similar?"

"The Uchiha corporation is the oppressor, Sharingan goods are the oppressor, Madara Uchiha is the great equaliser. I will level the playing field by destroying this building, crushing the Uchiha's finances. Obito might have been onto something by sending you, an Uchiha to assassinate a Hyuuga but in the end, his own greed got the better of him."

"It's your own family." Sasuke stated.

Madara turned his head slightly. "My family's dead."

Naruto looked to be in deep thought. "So you say you're helping Konoha, why do you relish in violence so much?"

"I don't. I just need to convince all of you that I do. My brother tried the peaceful approach and look how far that got him. To make them listen, they have to fear you, how do you accomplish this? With the threat of violence, rape, destruction. Shoot to wound, then execute the wounded, burn them, butcher them, make them forget everything they know about 'what a fair fight is' and they will fear you."

"I think you became more beast than man while trying to make them fear you Madara. Sasuke disarm the bomb, I'll watch him."

"I came too far and lost too much to let you ruin this now."

Madara took a shot in the arm while disarming Naruto. He headbutted Sasuke and drove a kick into his stomach sending him flying back, but not before taking his sword. His pain threshold was insane, nothing seemed to hurt this guy.

Madara had a sombre look on his face as he towered over Sasuke. "I am sorry about Itachi but your parents will be spared, I promise you."

He raised the sword, while Sasuke pulled out his Chidori. And swung it down... only for it to cut off Naruto's arm. He screamed, howled, yelled and cried in unimaginable suffering. Madara and Sasuke looked at him in shock, Madara was the first to snap out of it however and raised the sword again.

Bullets riddled his back and sent him to the ground, Sasuke looked over to see a bloody Sakura and Tenten. They were out of breath and completely drained of energy. Sakura rushed over to Naruto and wrapped her jacket around his arm to stop the bleeding. They propped him up against a wall while Sasuke called for a proper medical team. The rest of Anbu were mopping up the final reserves of Zetsu.

"I always knew you'd give an arm for me idi-" Naruto's other hand snaked out and wrapped itself around his throat. Neither Sakura nor Tenten bothered to stop him, Sasuke's attempts at being funny warranted a little stangling from time to time.

* * *

A few days after Madara's death, the rest of Zetsu were locked up or dead, Yamato woke up and Sai went back to his life as an artist. Naruto was in the med bay trying to get his reattached arm to move again.

"How's it working out for you?" Sasuke asked, entering the med bay.

"I was lucky. Apparently you only have about six to twelve hours until it's too late, something about metabolism, I don't know. I was pretty doped up when Sakura was explaining."

Sasuke chuckled. "I doubt you'd understand it, even if you weren't doped up."

They laughed before another silence hung in the air. Sasuke desperately wanted to ask something.

"It's alright Sasuke. You don't have to feel guilty. You would have done the same for me right? Right?!"

"You know I would."

Naruto yawned. "That's good. So what's next for you?"

"Kakashi and Tsunade cleared me off all charges. Said I was instrumental in taking down the Akatsuki, Danzo and Madara. Plus with Itachi and all..."

"Sticking around?"

"Taking Tenten to meet my parents, apparently saving their business and all redeems me completely, then we're going to travel this land. Righting wrongs and saving people, all that."

"Sounds nice. Be sure to visit before you leave completely."

"Will do and uh Naruto... thanks."

"Yeah you better be fucking grateful."

Sasuke chuckled as he walked out, nodding to Sakura as he left the building. Tenten was waiting for him outside.

"Ready to go?"

"You know it." She said.

"It could be dangerous, travelling with me. You could get hurt."

"I've been hurt more over the past week than I have in my entire life. Stop being such a bitch and let's go."

Sasuke laughed heartily as they made their way over to the Uchiha estate, she would certainly keep his life interesting, of that he was sure.

Back inside, Sakura was examining Naruto's arm.

"It hurts." He whined.

"You had your arm chopped off, of course it hurts."

"You saved Sasuke and I."

"Tenten and I both did."

"So, finally gotten over him leaving us?"

"Oh please, you were the one who sounded like a forlorn lover when he came back."

"I... I don't know what forlorn means."

Sakura giggled and kissed his cheek. "Go to sleep fool, I'll explain when you wake up."

"Sakura will you stay with me?"

"What are you five? Do you want me to read you a bedtime story as well?"

He looked sheepishly and she sighed. "Fine I'll stay until you fall asleep."

He was elated and closed his eyes, she would still be sitting there by the time he woke up.


	21. Chapter 21

_Ten years later..._

Sakura entered her husband's office only to find him in deep concentration. He had aged well, and thanks to Sakura managed to keep his arm, along with his sanity. Currently both of his hands were joined and his brow was furrowed, she had rarely seen him look so serious, even when struggling with a matter that could concern the future of Konoha, he never let it affect the people around him.

"What's wrong Naruto?"

The seventh Hokage considered her for a moment before sighing. "I just don't get it Sakura."

"Well maybe I can help. What don't you get?"

"I just don't understand how Sai and Ino could have such an ugly kid." Sakura had to use his desk to steady herself as he continued, "I mean they're both really attractive people right? Surely with their genes they should be able to produce a child that looks... normal."

"Naruto!" She growled.

He took a deep breath. "Sorry, I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a while now."

"Sai would hurt you pretty badly if he heard you say that about his son."

"Sai? There wouldn't be anything left for him to hurt after Ino rips me to shreds. And that's another thing, if not for the fact that we saw him as a baby, I genuinely wouldn't be able to tell Inojin's gender."

Sakura laughed at this and sat on the edge of his desk. "Are we bad people for laughing at a child's appearance?"

"I doubt it. You think of all the things we did in our lives Sakura, and making fun of a kid doesn't seem that bad."

"So what, this job is you paying off your debts to society?"

His face turned serious again. "No. This job is me doing it because no one else can. When I was young I wanted to be the Hokage for selfish reasons, the perks that come with the job. The respect and adoration of everyone, the fame and the wealth. Then I grew up and realised that being Hokage meant sitting behind a desk and doing paperwork for the rest of your life. Then I grew up again and realised that being Hokage is not a choice, it's an obligation. My dad gave up spending time with my mom and I, not to mention his life. Tsunade gave up drinking and gambling, her two favourite pastimes. Kakashi... fuck Kakashi gave up Anbu. He didn't even mind not going out anymore when he was in charge just as long as he was still there, still soaking up the athmosphere. But when the time came, he stepped up to the plate."

"So is that it, you living up to your predecessors, not wanting to disappoint your dad?"

"No. My dad would be content no matter what I did just as long as I am happy. I have to do this because there is literally no one else who can. No one with my experience, from dealing with Nagato to Obito to Madara, absorbing what they have to say."

"Madara? You sure absorbing that crazy bastard's words is good for you?"

"He may have been crazy, but I would be ignorant to think that there wasn't a grain of truth in his words. He didn't become a psychopath for shits and giggles like he had so many people believe."

"Do you really believe that stuff about his brother?"

"It doesn't matter Sakura. The bottom line is if I'm not Hokage and I'm not putting my heart and soul into this job, into Konoha, then how can I expect anyone else to? That's why I became Hokage, not for the immature dreams of my younger self or the apathetic reluctance of my Anbu days. But for my new dream of making Konoha a better place, which I will carry out with vigorous enthusiasm as Hokage."

Sakura was in awe of her husband, she had seen signs of him becoming weary of being cooped up for too long.

"So is that your sacrifice then, your freedom?" She asked shakily.

He stood to full height and smiled. Not the smile he gave when trying to reassure people that their Hokage wasn't worn out, but a real, trademark-Naruto smile.

"Nope. Freedom is nice but it lacks... stability. Stability is underrated, sure I can train and train, and become the best soldier this world has ever seen but I wouldn't stand a chance at being Hokage, not even for a day. With structure and support, I have the strength to do this job."

"Naruto you're scaring me. I don't think I've ever heard you talk this seriously before, I'm pretty sure you took our wedding less serious than this little speech."

He laughed, wrapped his arms around her and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He then whispered to her, "You... give me strength. You and-"

Just then the door of the Hokage's office burst open and there stood a miniature version of Naruto, with Sakura's emerald eyes.

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You couldn't watch him for five minutes Shikamaru."

A man who, kind of looked like Shikamaru, save for the goatee on his chin, peered round the corner. Sakura was convinced that he only grew it so he could have something to stroke while he was thinking.

"I was almost sure that my job was to be the Hokage's advisor, not a babysitter."

The little Naruto charged at his dad only to be sent flying high into the sky. Naruto remembered back when he was trying to get strength in his arm again and when Sakura gave birth, he was terrified that his arm would fail him. 'It would be my luck for my arm to just, give up at that moment wouldn't it?" He had said. After a few choice words from Sakura, which Naruto was sure that their baby shouldn't be exposed to moments after being born, he gingerly picked his son up and was amazed by how he contained both elements from himself and Sakura.

These days though, their son would get cranky if his daddy didn't pick up and lift him into the air. As for Naruto, it wasn't a terrible way to exercise his arms, he reasoned.

"So Shinachiku, did you come all this way just to see your daddy?" Naruto asked, Shinachiku shook his head. "Oh, well then why did you come here?" He wasn't hurt that his son came to the office, just not to see him, not hurt at all.

"Sasuke." The young boy said.

"And how did you know that Sasuke is coming down today?" Naruto asked. "Did you tell him, I thought it was supposed to be a surprise?" He whispered at Sakura.

"I didn't tell him." She whispered back. A look of confusion donned both of their faces causing Shinachiku to giggle.

"I had... a dream."

"What?" They both said to him, he felt pretty important having both of his parents focused intently on him.

"Last night, I had a dream. I was in my room, when suddenly uncle Sasuke came in through the window." All of the color completely drained out of Sakura's face. "He told me not to tell anybody and then gave me a present. I don't know what it was but Sasuke said that it would help me train with him when I'm older so that I'll become even stronger than you daddy. But when I woke up, the present was still there."

Naruto gently set his son down and tried to process what he had just said. When his senses had returned to him, only one thing came to his mind.

"What the fu-

* * *

"How about Chidori?" She suggested to Sasuke, whose head was cradled in her lap while she ran her hands affectionately through his silky, black hair. To most people he might look as if he was asleep but Tenten knew him long enough to know that if something happened, he would be on his feet and ready within a second.

"For the last time Tenten, we are not naming our child after a weapon." She took one of her hands out his hair and placed it on her slightly bulging stomach.

"But it holds so much meaning for us. It's your weapon of choice and it's the first thing you ever asked from me?" She meant all of it in a positive way he knew, but he just couldn't see it like that.

"I will not name my child after something that was built with the intention of taking life." He said with savage finality.

She stopped and thought about what he said, before she nearly began to cry hysterically. "Oh God, I want to name our baby after something that hurts people. I'm going to be a terrible mother aren't I?" She sobbed.

Sasuke sighed before abandoning his cosy position. He crouched next to her and began to gently rub her back.

"No Tenten, you will not be a terrible mother and our child will be just fine." He said in such a monotone voice, she wondered if the words he repeated so often had lost all meaning by this point.

"Do you really mean that Sasuke?" Her face looked akin to a puppy's as her wide eyes gazed at him.

"Oh for God's sake, get a hold of yourself Tenten." He moved his head down to her stomach. "I can't wait until you're out of there child. You're driving your mother and I insane." He placed a loving kiss there that was meant for it and Tenten.

"Alright Sasuke, I'm running out of ideas here, what about Itachi?" He didn't look back at her as he began to get changed.

"No. There was only one Itachi and I don't want our child being under pressure to live up to his name. It's not a pleasant feeling." She felt absolutely terrible for even suggesting it. Her moods were fluctuating wildly and she had virtually no control over them.

"I'm sorry." She muttered.

He must have been concerned by the tone of her voice because he walked over and cupped her face in his hands.

"Ten, it's fine. You're doing a far better job than I am at coming up with names, so don't be upset. No matter the name or gender, as long as it's coming from us, this child be perfect."

She sniffled a bit before laughing. "I suppose this a good time to tell you that I've been having a torrid affair behind your back all these years."

"I'm just surprised that you managed to find someone stronger than me."

"What? I never said he was stronger than you."

"He'd have to be, because I'd kill him the second I saw him laying eyes on you." Sasuke placed a firm kiss on her lips before finishing getting dressed. As she stared at him getting undressed, she thought how she also couldn't for this baby to be out of her. Recently when having sex, Sasuke treated like she was made of glass. It had been far too long since the last time he had put his all into it.

"Your mouth is hanging open and I think there's some drool coming out of it." He said, finally tucking his Chidori inside his jacket and stepping into his shoes.

"Alright hot-stuff, what about this? Satomi if it's a girl, Kosuke if it's a boy."

He paused before flashing her the most beautiful smile. "I like them, I like those names a lot." He gave her one last kiss and stroked her cheek. "Love you. If you need anything... well I'm sure the four servants my mother insisted on providing you with will take care of you before I get back."

"Love you too, say hello to Naruto and Sakura for me." She said their names as if they were family to her, which in a way he supposed they were.

Sasuke walked out into the fresh Konoha air with a new outlook on life he did not possess ten years ago. He took a deep breath before catching the eye of a beautiful woman. He took in her long, tanned legs as she strutted over to him with all the confidence of getting what she wanted. Her predatory eyes looked him up and down before a sultry smile crept across her face.

Sasuke walked to meet her and just when she was about to speak, he held up his hand. Her eyes narrowed at the ring on his finger as he walked past her.

"Sorry, I'm not that guy anymore."

* * *

He made his way through the Hokage's building before nodding to Shikamaru.

"They're not happy with you."

"They rarely are." Sasuke replied, he walked inside only to find Sakura nearly ready to strangle Naruto.

"Now Sakura I think you said much worse than that when Shinachiku was born."

"Yeah but there's a difference Naruto, he couldn't understand anything back then!" She yelled.

"You'd be surprised how fast kids are learning these days." He said weakly.

Sasuke crept over to Shinachiku, who was watching all of this, and whispered; "What are your parents arguing about this time."

"Uncle Sasuke!" Shinachiku exclaimed. Sasuke hated that title but just couldn't bring himself to tell the kid to stop calling him it.

"Sasuke." Naruto and Sakura said simultaneously.

"Is there an echo in here or something?" Sasuke said, winking at Shinachiku.

"Shinachiku, out." Sakura said firmly.

"But mommy, I want to tell Sasuke about my dream." The boy whined.

"Now!"

"Go on kid, we'll talk later." Sasuke said.

"Fine." Shinachiku reluctantly walked out. In one way, he was glad, his mother could be quite scary when she got angry.

"So what's all of this about?"

"You tell us." Naruto said sourly. "Care to explain why Shinachiku is having dreams about you."

"Lack of a good father figure?"

"Funny except he swore 'uncle Sasuke' crawled in through the window, like a retarded Santa Claus, and left him something. And when he woke up, it was still there."

"I think this less about me, and more about the terrible shambles of a security you have guarding your only child. I mean if I can break in, who knows who else might be able to."

"Except we've had you and Tenten over to our house multiple times, so much so that you could probably infiltrate it with your eyes closed."

Sasuke shrugged and Naruto sighed.

"Speaking of Tenten, how is she?" Sakura asked.

"She's good, she told me to give you her best, for some reason."

"Probably just wants some decent company for a change." Sakura replied. They glared at each other before Naruto intervened.

"Alright, alright. Let's get down to business, Sasuke you sounded pretty urgent on the phone."

"Well mainly I wanted to get Tenten home but I think what you're interested in is this."

He took out a file and placed it before Naruto. It showed a woman with delicate facial features and flowing white hair.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki. She's become the largest drug dealer in the Water Country and is making her way over here. You know the first place in Fire Country she will try to set up shop is Konoha. She sells one product called Tsukuyomi, it makes people apparently enter an ethereal high where they lose all touch with reality."

Sasuke and Sakura flinched as Naruto's head slammed down on his desk. "It just never ends does it? I think I'm making progress then this bitch comes and tries to fuck up my city!"

Sakura gave him a sympathetic look. "You said it yourself Naruto, 'tommorow it will be some other asshole, who does the bad guy mastermind routene and whose ass we have to kick.'"

"I wish I could go back and kick my own ass for saying something that depressing." He whined.

"I'm actually inclined to agree with you, these clandestine wars are becoming tiresome." Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed again. "I don't know what clandestine means."

Sasuke and Sakura chuckled before Naruto straightened up. "Alright Sasuke, go play with my kid, he missed you. Sakura get Shikamaru in here, time for him to start doing some of that advising he talks so much about."

"Since when did I become a babysitter?" Sasuke whispered to Sakura, who rolled her eyes.

Before they walked out they took one last look at Naruto, who was staring intently at the file Sasuke had given him. Seeing the fire in his eyes and renewed look of energy on his features, made them realise that Konoha was in no better hands than his.


End file.
